Butchered Dolphin Found At Allenhurst Beach, Feds Investigating

I hope they catch the person responsible!

Federal officials are looking into a butchered dolphin at Allenhurst Beach. It washed up on the beach here last Wednesday, the Brigantine Marina Mammal Center said. The Stranding Center called it "a very disturbing call."

They even had this to say "When our Stranding Coordinator arrived, he found a Common dolphin that appeared to have been butchered, " the group wrote up on Friday on Facebook. "The animal’s flesh had been completely removed with clean cuts from a sharp instrument, leaving only the head, dorsal fin, and flukes. The animal’s organs, except for the heart and lungs, had been removed."

The Center said the case is being investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Law Enforcement along with the Feds. The public is asked to call the Center's 24-hour hotline 609- 266-0538. if they have any information about this case. The NOAA Office of Law Enforcement is also investigating the dolphin's death as a possible violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The penalty for killing a dolphin can be a fine of up to 100 thousand dollars and up to a year in jail.

Apparently, on Tuesday night, the night before the butchered dolphin was discovered, a live dolphin was reported struggling in the surf one block away in Allenhurst right off the beach. It is unclear if this was the same dolphin though. The National Oceanic And Atmospheric did not provide additional comment when reached Saturday.

The New Jersey beach coast is in the middle of migration, where a lot of sightings of marine mammals, such as humpback whales and dolphins, have been happening a bunch out in the Atlantic around this time of year.

I love dolphins, and a couple of my friends did say that someone may have filleted the dolphin to use its meat as fishing bait. I hope this person is caught and please let's leave the dolphins alone.

Thank you for always taking the time out to check this story out and rocking out with me and 95.9 The Rat. You can get more stories by clicking right HERE. Much LOVE and CHEERS. - Gotts