Whale carcass on County Derry beach is posing a health risk

A whale carcass which has lain for a week on a County Derry beach is at risk of exploding, a leading marine biologist has said.

The carcass, thought to be that of an adult minke whale, was washed up at Balls Point, Bellarena last Tuesday, and has not yet been removed by authorities.

Thought to have become stuck in shallow water during an unusually high tide last week, the carcass has not yet been removed by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

The minke whale has lain on the beach at Balls Point for over a week.

Measuring around 15 feet, the carcass has been decomposing since, with local marine wildlife feeding on the stricken whale.

Marine biologist John Dunn MBE, who spent much of his early life in Maghera, has said the carcass currently poses a risk to people's health.

“The carcass will pose a health risk as it starts to decay, and I doubt if there are sufficient wild scavengers in the local area to deal with it effectively,” he said.

“The other danger is that gas will build up in the stomach and other organs and there is the risk of explosion, which has happened in in other strandings.

“It could be pulled up the beach by a JCB or something similar and buried near to where it is and that would deal with the problem.”

Dunn said autopsies on stranded minke whales often reveal large amounts of plastic in their stomachs.

“The stranding of these beautiful cetaceans is often a mystery, and when autopsies are performed on them they find that they have significant amounts of waste plastic in their stomachs,” he said.

“Other things which might have affected the whale are PCBs a chemical which is now banned but was regularly found in all sorts of electrical components and other materials.

“It is often found in the blubber of whales. It is extremely toxic and can cause all sorts of harmful side effects in humans and cetaceans.

“There are even theories that cetaceans who are ill or feeling ill beach themselves deliberately, as they become disorientated.”

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council have said the carcass is currently lying below the high water mark and that they have no responsibility to remove it.

DAERA are thought to have visited the site on September 23, but the County Derry Post are yet to receive a response to an enquiry sent on the same date.

In response to an enquiry made by a local councillor to Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots, DAERA said 'the issues raised will be considered and a response made in due course'.

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