Whales cannot be humanely killed – they are too large, and even with an explosive harpoon, it is difficult to hit the whale in the right spot. Moreover, whalers do not want to use a large amount of explosive, because that would blow the whale to pieces, while the whole point is to recover valuable oil or flesh.
鲸鱼不能被少受痛苦地杀死，因此它们体型太庞大。即便用带炸药的捕鲸叉，也很难击中鲸鱼身体的正确部位。此外，捕鲸者并不愿意使用大量的炸药，因为那样会把鲸鱼炸成碎片，而他们想要的是获得值钱的鱼油或肉。所以被捕鲸叉击中的鲸鱼通常会缓慢而又痛苦地死去。