After two weeks of red tape, the Nova Scotia government has removed a dead whale that washed up on a beach in Tracadie, N.S.
The six metre long-finned pilot whale washed up on the shore earlier in November, leaving a strong stench in the area.
“It’s there and it’s huge and it’s stinking at this point,” said resident Shirley DeCoste.
In addition to the smell, Coun. Gary Mattie said residents were concerned about the animal exploding.
“They'll build up with gases and it could explode and people are curious,” said Mattie. “They know there's a whale on the beach. They're going to come, maybe take some pictures and stuff like that. Also, we have people that walk this beach.”
The municipality was willing to move the whale at its expense, but it needed a permit from the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources in order to do so. The department initially denied the request.
In an email, officials with the Department of National Resources told the county that the whale was located on a protected beach and the heavy equipment needed to remove it would impact the dunes.
However, after being contacted by CTV News, the department issued a brief statement Wednesday afternoon saying it would remove the whale as soon as possible.
It provided a further update Thursday morning, confirming the whale had since been removed from the beach.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Dan MacIntosh.
