Long wait to remove dead dolphin on Brighton Beach
A dolphin that has been washed up on Brighton Beach for more than 24 hours has just been removed, amid calls for authorities to act quicker on removing dead mammals due to the threat of transmissible diseases.
The common dolphin was lying in front of the Edwards Street drain on Brighton Beach in Adelaide’s south as of 11am today.
One beachgoer sent a photo of the mammal to InDaily at 7.45am on Thursday, estimating it to be 1.9-metres long. Two cones were placed around the dolphin later this morning.
Holdfast Bay Mayor Amanda Wilson told InDaily a short time ago that council’s environmental workers were removing the dolphin. A council spokesperson told InDaily at 12.15pm that the dolphin is now gone.
The common dolphin washed up near the Edwards Street stormwater inlet. Photo: supplied
But it comes after confusion about who was responsible for removing the dolphin, with Wilson saying council staff were waiting for marine and fisheries and SA Museum staff to conduct an autopsy.
“But no one’s attended as far as we know yet,” Wilson said.
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Australian Marine Wildlife Research and Rescue Organisation president Aaron Machado said he was first notified about the dolphin shortly after 7.30am on Wednesday.
He said he notified National Parks and Wildlife on Wednesday morning, but nothing happened since.
“They said they’re going to collect it, then I received information to say they’re going to leave it there, they don’t want it, and they’re not progressing investigations into the cause of death,” he said.
Machado estimated the dolphin was dead for three to four days and has since washed ashore. He said he received another seven calls about the dolphin today
“I know yesterday people were pushing it back in, again this morning, and getting quite annoyed,” he said.
“The department really needs to reconsider their position when it comes to an animal. If they don’t want it, i.e. if the Museum doesn’t want to do a post-mortem on it… then they need to consider disposing of it, so the general public aren’t exposed to disease and/or their dogs.
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“Let’s say hypothetically it’s got tuberculosis, which is a zoonotic disease that quite often marine mammals carry, and a dog goes up and sniffs it and then it’s transferrable.
“If it has it, we don’t know, but at the same time we’re allowing people to get in contact with it and their animals. It could potentially put them in jeopardy.
“It’s unacceptable.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment and Water said they were notified of the dead dolphin on December 4.
“Rangers inspected the carcass and determined that the animal was an adult common dolphin which appears to have died of natural causes,” the spokesperson said.
“The department has been in contact with the City of Holdfast Bay, which is responsible for removing or burying the carcass.
“The death of marine mammals, while unfortunate, is not an uncommon occurrence.
“We encourage anyone who discovers a dead, sick or stranded marine mammal to contact their local National Parks and Wildlife Service office or marine wildlife rescue organisation.
“The public is reminded not to interfere with marine mammals, which can carry infectious diseases that can pass between themselves, humans, and their pets.”
The spokesperson also said the common dolphin is different from the bottlenose dolphin species found in the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary along the Port River.
