Men caught trying to tear teeth from jaw of dead whale
Public warned to stay away from Balmedie Beach until carcase is safely disposed of
Published:
A police investigation could be launched after men were spotted yesterday ripping teeth from the carcase of a whale washed up on an Aberdeenshire beach.
The 30ft mammal was found on the beach near Balmedie Country Park on Friday.
Yesterday, walkers on the beach saw a group of men trying to tear teeth from the jaw of the dead sperm whale, despite an earlier warning from a Coastguard spokesman over the risk of disease from the remains.
Initially Aberdeenshire Council had said fencing would be erected to keep people away from the remains.
Barriers had not been erected around the dead whale however, because of concerns any fencing would be washed away by the tide, a council spokeswoman said yesterday.
“Signs were erected telling people to stay away from the scene,” she said.
“We are appalled at re- ports people have been attacking the carcase, and if any evidence is received by the council we will be passing it on to Grampian Police.”
She asked people to stay away from the area until the dead whale’s remains are safely disposed of this week.
She added: “Discussions have been ongoing with contractors over the week- end to determine the best way to dispose of the carcase.”
Walkers at Balmedie beach said they were amazed that no fencing nor patrols were visible around the whale on Saturday afternoon.
One man said yesterday: “We were horrified this morning to witness a group of four men attacking the carcase with axes and knives, trying to remove the whale’s teeth. This was taking place in front of families with small children.”
A Grampian Police spokesman said: “It is an offence to remove any teeth or piece of bone from a whale carcase.
“We have no record of any complaint at the moment, but the appropriate action will be taken if any is received.”
Readers' Comments
The police should have better things to do than investigate this. Perhaps police Union St or stop the rising death toll on the roads. If your horrified by the sight of someone removing a dead whales tooth your too insulated from life. Typical of Britons that think all food comes in neat plastic packages from Tesco.
Alan Craigie
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You're right Alan, much better to read "police stop drunk men in city centre trying to knock innocent passerby's teeth out...." but I suppose that's too much like hard work and lots of paper work. Might be an idea to get some CCTV coverage of the beach area to police/stop this inhumane use of carcases....mind you that doesn't seem to help in the city centre either??? hhhmmm.
Jerry Bradbury
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Your both wrong!! We have the head count to cover & protect both this incident & the other you mention. I comes down to organization of patrols. Alan, your last 'comment' is of a typical Briton. If you lot don't have something to moan about your not happy!! shakes my head at disbelief of some people.
Kevin Robertson
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Its illegal to take the teeth from a dead whale ?? On another note - how not to dispose of a dead whale - search for "exploding whale on beach" on youtube
claude monet
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