German minister regrets whale rescue decision, cites broken agreements

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Environment Minister Till Backhaus has voiced critical reflections on a controversial whale rescue operation earlier this year, stating he would not repeat the initiative in its previous form. Backhaus admitted that, in hindsight, he would make different decisions regarding the private effort to save a stranded humpback whale off the Baltic Sea coast.

During a special session of the state parliament's agriculture committee, Backhaus explained his reluctance stemmed from the private initiative failing to uphold agreed-upon terms. Specifically, he cited a lack of complete documentation of the whale's transport and incomplete tracker data. The minister also noted that the ministry has not yet recovered additional costs, such as personnel expenses, from the initiative.

“

For the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, this attempt was successful. The animal was successfully retrieved.

The rescue attempt, which involved transporting the whale to the North Sea via a barge, was met with criticism from experts. Despite the minister's assertion that the whale was "successfully retrieved" for the state, the animal was found dead near the Danish island of Anholt in mid-May.

The committee session was called following a request from the CDU party, which sought transparency from Backhaus regarding the expert assessments that informed his decision to approve the rescue. Backhaus, however, maintained that he had nothing to hide and insisted the operation was a success from the state's perspective, emphasizing the successful retrieval of the animal.

“

I would not undertake such an attempt again as a minister with this initiative.