Authorities are investigating after the discovery of a dolphin’s remains on a New Jersey beach. Last week, beachgoers in Allenhurst, located just north of Asbury Park, came across the disturbing scene.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) reported that the dolphin had been “butchered,†its body left in a horrifying state.
According to the MMSC, clean cuts from a sharp tool had stripped the dolphin’s flesh, leaving only its head, dorsal fin, and flukes intact.
Most of the organs were missing, except for the heart and lungs. “The animal’s flesh had been completely removed with clean cuts from a sharp instrument,†the center stated.
Witnesses recalled seeing a dolphin struggling in the surf nearby the evening before, but it managed to swim back out to sea.
Whether that dolphin was the same one discovered later is still unclear.
The remains were taken in by the MMSC for documentation, and the carcass was buried afterward.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is leading the investigation. Federal authorities, including NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement, are also examining a previous incident in Louisiana from April when a bottlenose dolphin was found shot multiple times.
NOAA emphasizes the importance of protecting marine mammals, stating that harming or killing wild dolphins is a serious offense under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Offenders face penalties that include up to a year in prison and fines as high as $100,000.
This article by Trinity Sparke was first published by One Green Planet on 6 November 2024. Image Credit :Svetlana Romantsova/Shutterstock.
What you can do
Help to save wildlife by donating as little as $1 – It only takes a minute.
