INCIDENT REMINDS ME OF MY ‘WHALE WARS’ DAYS

Officials in Myrtle Beach found a 13-foot pygmy sperm whale washed ashore Friday, but determined it to be gravely sick.

So, naturally, they had to euthanize it.

Myrtle Beach police Lt. Doug Furlong says the whale was alive but very sick when officials were called.

It will be taken to the National Ocean Service Lab in Charleston to determine what led to its death.

Rob Young of the Coastal Carolina University Marine Science Department says about five whales wash ashore on the state’s beaches each year because they are sick, have a heart condition or have eaten debris. [AP]

I could be wrong here, but I’m guessing that the euthanization of the whale likely led to its death.

I saw it all the time during my days as a Sea Shepherd aboard the Steve Irwin on the hit Animal Planet show “Whale Wars.”

I’ve uploaded a photo of us throwing glass bottles of butyric acid on the deck of a Japanese whaling vessel here (yes, I could walk back then through the miracle of photoshop magic). Ahh… those were the days.

Anyway, these Myrtle Beach whale killers are obviously no better than the people we fought during our intense sea battles. I just hope some brave state legislator will demand an investigation into this, because it sounds like whalicide.