Rescue criticised: Accusations after the death of humpback whale Timmy

At the end of April, specialists loaded the weakened mammal onto a Special pontoon for transport to the North Sea. The elaborate manoeuvre raised high hopes among the helpers. However, on the evening of 14 May, rescue workers discovered the lifeless body in the Kattegat. A German vet examined the dorsal fin directly on site. The serial number of the integrated GPS tracker finally brought the sad certainty.

Warning of explosion hazard

The carcass is now floating around 75 metres off the coast of the Danish island of Anholt in waist-deep water. The animal is lying on its back. The Danish Nature Conservation Agency leaves the whale in place. According to its guidelines, whale strandings are a natural part of nature. The Ministry of the Environment in Schwerin warns of an acute risk of explosion from the decomposition gases. Experts suspect that the whale was unable to cope with the stressful transport by barge.

Backhaus defends salvage attempt

The death of the whale has sparked a dispute in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as to whether the rescue operation was sensible. Environment Minister Till Backhaus defended his authorisation for the private initiative. In an official press release, the minister said: "Many people were very concerned about the fate of the animal and hoped that it would be possible to release the whale back into the wild [...] Scientists could not rule out the possibility that the whale could survive despite its certainly poor state of health. That is why my house decided to tolerate the salvage attempt. Unfortunately, the animal was not able to take its chance. [...] Anyone who wants to criticise this should do so."

Criticism from the Greens

The Greens in the state parliament have sharply criticised the decision. Environmental policy spokesman Dr Harald Terpe accuses Backhaus of ignoring scientific warnings for a PR campaign. For Terpe, the images from Denmark resemble a "failed burial at sea". He sharply criticises the minister for shifting responsibility onto his staff.

"But instead of pausing and evaluating his own actions with the necessary restraint, Environment Minister Till Backhaus is trying to shift the responsibility for the decisions made onto his 'house', i.e. his employees. [...] Grit looks different."

Terpe demands responsible decisions based on scientific findings from a minister. Instead, Backhaus is acting out of a desire for media attention and personal staging. In the end, the minister is just following an old pattern. Terpe criticises "big words on species protection, but resistance to effective measures"

Change of course at the ministry

Since the beginning of March there have been Numerous attempts to free the humpback whale. However, as the Ministry of the Environment considered a successful rescue to be hopeless, the authorities discontinued their efforts after a few weeks. The costs and risk of the rescue operation were borne entirely by a private initiative.