A dead 40,000 lb. fin whale that washed up on a beach off Malibu, CA has created an olfactory issue for nearby residents of the upscale community outside Los Angeles. The problem, aside from an overpowering odor that's absolutely ruining Barbra Streisand's days, is that no government agency feels obliged to undertake the task, if it's even possible, of removing the decomposing monster.
Maybe the dead whale could be considered a health risk but the idea of towing it out to sea is just moving the risk to another location. While there are signs that the immense mammal was fatally injured by a collision with a watercraft, there's still the possibility that it may have suffered from some communicable whale disease. Should it be moved back among the other living whales where it might infect them with it?
And isn't a dead whale on a beach kind of Mommy Nature's way of providing a Thanksgiving meal for the seagulls and other carrion eaters? Why would any animal lover want to deprive the birds of such a feast? Of course, like all animals, every whale that's born eventually dies. This one picked Malibu as its last resting place. Who are we to say that it made the wrong decision? So it stinks for awhile, get used to it Babs. That's what happens when you live by the beach.
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