Council apology after dead whales left for three weeks
Argyll and Bute Council has been under fire after the bodies of two whales, beached on the Kyles of Bute, were left lying for weeks after their deaths.
The local authority had undertaken to remove and dispose of the carcases of the Sowerby’s beaked whales which became stranded on September 17 at Kames, near Tighnabruaich.
Kames Coastguard Rescue Team joined other agencies in an attempt to save the mammals, which were initially thought to be a mother and calf.
A concerted effort to help the animals, between agencies including the coastguard, Bute and Cowal Vets, British Divers Marine Life Rescue, SSPCA, Barbara’s Wildlife Rescue and many local people ended in tragedy when the local vet was forced to first put down the smaller underweight male then the accompanying juvenile female.
After the hard work of so many – with a distressing outcome – anger built as the council failed to arrange uplift of the two bodies.
After being contacted by the Argyllshire Advertiser, a council spokesperson said on Monday October 7: ‘We apologise for the delay in removing the animals. A contractor has been appointed to carry out the work, which will be completed as soon as possible.’
The animal which lay on the tank slip near Kames was removed on Wednesday October 9 for disposal at a landfill site, though it remains unclear whether both were uplifted. A post mortem examination carried out through the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme revealed that the 11-foot long male was in very poor nutritional condition and the female, two and a half feet longer than the male, had not eaten for a good while before stranding.
A post mortem report noted: ‘The inshore waters around Tighnabruaich are not suitable habitat for this species and it is not surprising they had not fed recently.’