ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />Attempts to refloat eight whales stranded on New Zealand's South Island have failed.<br/> <br />They were shot and killed on Thursday (January 16), to avoid further suffering, the conservation department said.<br/> <br />The whales were beached on Tuesday (January 14) and refloated on Wednesday (January 15), but were found back on the beach.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: John Mason from the Department of Conservation (English):<br/> <br />"It's really frustrating for everybody to work really hard for two days and get the result that we got this morning."<br/> <br />The Golden Bay area is said to be one of the worst in the world for whales to get beached.<br/> <br />Local media said about 250 pilot whales have died there in the last five years.
