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VERIFY: No, a dead whale was not discarded in a dumpster

The whale was being transported for a full evaluation.

QUESTION:

Was a dead whale discarded in a New Hampshire dumpster?

ANSWER:

No, the carcass was being transported via dumpster to a lab fro necropsy

SOURCES:

Ashley Stokes- Marine Mammal Rescue Manager-Seacoast Science Center

Heidi Duncanson-Development and Communications Coordinator- Seacoast Science Center

Jason Schreiber- reporter for Union Leader in New Hampshire

PROCESS:

All over social media, people are outraged over photos and video of a dead whale that appears to be discarded in a public dumpsters.

But was someone trying to dispose of a two-ton carcass in a commercial dumpster?

Our Verify researchers found that photos and video originated from a New Hampshire reporter at the Union Leader, a local publication.

Reporter Jason Schreiber filmed marine rescue crews working over a dead minke whale that washed ashore on Jenness Beach in New Hampshire on September 17.

Responders at the Seacoast Science Center, a non-profit federally designated by NOAA to rescue marine mammals in New Hampshire, determined the best way to transport the body to the lab for an autopsy, was using a dumpster.

"It is pretty standard to utilize a lined dumpster when removing a whale carcass for transport," Ashley Stokes, Marine Mammal Rescue Manager at Seacoast Science Center said. "You run a much higher risk of leakage when utilizing something that is not contained. A dumpster, especially when lined, has a significantly lower risk of leaking anything when transporting the animal to another location."

Unfortunately, lot's of people didn't have that background when they saw Schreiber's next video.

Apparently, the first dumpster was too small. Stokes said the cumbersome machinery couldn't turn it's bucket or forks at an angle. Still, the team decided to give it shot.

"Rather than turn them away, knowing that a larger dumpster could not arrive on location until the following morning, the heavy machine operators decided to give it one attempt, since all of the resources were already on site," Stokes said. "After the one failed attempt, the mission was aborted for that day and resumed early the following morning with no further glitches. As you can imagine, handling a whale carcass is a truly unique logistical problem."

By Monday afternoon the "whale dumpster" video was already making headlines and the marine center, doing damage control.

The whale was secured in a parking lot overnight Monday, loaded into a larger dumpster and transported to a compost facility Tuesday and taken in for a necropsy Wednesday.

NOAA fisheries has declared an unusually higher mortality of minke whales since 2017. This particular whale was heavily entangled in lobster fishing gear, Stokes said.

"This animal fit all the criteria for post mortem examination, and the entanglement added further warranty for a full necropsy," she said.

So we can Verify, no, a whale was not thrown away in a public dumpster, it was being transported for a full evaluation.

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