Council to dispose of dead whale

The sick fin whale that had become stranded against a harbour wall in West Cork died yesterday around 11am. It had been stranded inthe popular tourist town of Baltimore since Tuesday and had attracted large numbers of visitors.

The almost 50ft long whale had resisted attempts by fishermen to coax it back into open waters.

The carcass of the huge mammal was then towed away to Oldcourt in the Ilen estuary where a crane allows the animal to be lifted from the water.

Cork County Council has taken responsibility for the disposal of the whale which will be completed over the next few days.

Eye witness Renate Murphy said that it was “great that he died, as he was thrashing about a lot”. She said that the passing of an ambulance seemed to agitate the whale leading to the thrashing.

Dr Simon Berrow, Executive Officer, with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG ) described the situation as “unprecedented” and said that the group had been talking to the naval service and army about killing the whale.

“The IWDG have been talking to the Naval Service and the Army about attempting to shoot the whale and logistics were being put in place for this evening, so fortunately the issue has been resolved.

“The IWDG will be meeting with representatives of the Defence Forces, NPWS and Local Authorities to attempt to put in place a protocol on how to deal with this situation in the future. We have done this in the past but clearly this needs to be revisited,” he said.

“This has been an unprecedented event, given its location, but whale populations are increasing and whales will die and no doubt we will be faced with a similar situation again in the future,” he added.

It is thought that the whale may be taken to the Marine Institute in Waterford.