Attempts to rescue a pod of stranded false killer whales on Kommetjie Beach in the Western Cape ended with 44 of the mammals being euthanised, the environment affairs department said on Sunday.

"Forty-four whales had to be euthanised to prevent further suffering after all attempts to rescue them were unsuccessful due to the unfavourable weather conditions," said spokeswoman Carol Moses in a statement.

"The decision to euthanise the whales was made collaboratively after all options were considered by the various role players."

Marine and Coastal Management scientist Mike Meyer said 42 of the whales were euthanised on Saturday evening and another two during the night.

"Our biggest problem was on the day there was one of the worst climates we've had. There were big swells. If we'd had better weather we could have been much more successful."

Nan Rice, head of the Dolphin Action and Protection group said "rehabilitating" the animals in those weather conditions proved impossible. Rehabilitating involved moving the whales into deep, calm water and rocking them until they could swim away on their own.

"It's physiotherapy," said Rice.

Fifty-five whales began beaching around 7.30am on Saturday. Moses said that officials and volunteers worked until 8pm in "in difficult and dangerous conditions due to the strong current, big swells and spring tide".

Initial hopes that 20 of the whales had been rescued were dashed when it was discovered that they were swimming out only to strand themselves again. Moses estimated that 13 whales had been successfully rescued.

"I don't think any got out from what I can gather. They went further down the beach and got stranded again."

Rice said the decision to euthanise the whales was only taken after it became clear the animals would not be able to survive the night on the beach.

"They were weakening already. The animals wouldn't have been able to swim out.

"The fact of the matter is that during the night, you probably would have people coming out of the bush to cut big chunks out of them. And we couldn't have people posted there all night because of the weather."

She lashed out at public criticism of the decision to euthanise, as well as her organisation's handling of the stranded whales.

"They should be praising. I think it's disgusting. It makes me sick. You can't be sentimental, you have to be serious.

"I've seen it (the euthanisation). It's quick. The bullet goes straight through the brain and the whale dies in a few seconds. But they [the public] get hysterical and start acting like prima donnas and throw themselves on the beach and have to be carried away by the police.

"All over the world it's a struggle to get these animals back. If the weather had been calm, we could have saved many animals. What could you do? We had to work out a plan."

Rice added that criticism of her organisation's response time to the stranded whales was unfair.

"Now there's all this criticism that we weren't prepared. How could we know where these whales would strand?

Said Meyer: "The beach was a disaster area as matter of fact. The amount of organisation, the amount of people who need to be contacted, it does take time."

Meyer and Rice both said that onlookers and untrained volunteers hindered the organised rescue attempt.

"I have spent so much time training volunteers and all those volunteers knew what to do. But this enormous influx of people coming to the beach, all running around with children and barking dogs."

According to Meyer: "Some media were saying 'go out and help the whales', which might have been a good thing, but by the end it made things impossible."

Because of the large numbers of onlookers, road traffic was completely stalled along the beach.

"We could not control that length of the beach. We couldn't have moved anything in or out. Our rescue people had trouble getting close because of the number of people," said Meyer.

The whale carcasses, which weight 1.5 tons, are being moved by truck to a landfill where scientists will examine them.

"The carcasses are currently being moved in convoy by truck to the Vissershoek waste disposal site where Marine and Coastal Management scientists will dissect the whales to analyse the mammals for research purposes," said Moses.

She said this will be finished by Monday after which the whales will be buried.

Sapa