FOR THE ATTENTION OF,

Executive Director, Park Operations (Coastal) National Parks & Wildlife Service; Naomi Vader

Mayor; Chris Cherry

General Manager of Tweed Shire Council; Troy Greene

Director Sustainable Communities & Environment Tweed Shire Council; Namo Searle

We the interested parties being, concerned local residents, business owners and ocean enthusiasts from the Pottsville and greater regional local community. Hereby request that the juvenile humpback whale that was buried Tuesday 29th October 900m south of Black Rocks Northern NSW, in coordination between yourselves be exhumed as soon as possible and relocated to a suitable location off the beach. 

The decision to bury this juvenile humpback in the location on the beach respectfully lacks any due consideration for the interested parties and or their expressed concerns duly notified to yourselves prior to this decision being made. Which is the long term leaching of decomposing animal matter into the local surf zone which has a predominant south to north drift. Being in a location 900m south of one of the Northern NSW coasts premier surf spots, Black Rocks.

We the interested parties sincerely desire a sustainable long term relationship with the local wildlife that we love, respect and share our ocean environment with. By burying the whale in the location that you have, you have most certainly increased the likelihood of long term negative interactions between ocean enthusiasts and the apex predators that we share the ocean with. Which is far from a sustainable approach for both wildlife and humans. As when negative interactions occur between wildlife and humans it invariably ends with the local wildlife paying the ultimate price. It is literally no different to placing food out for dingoes on K’gari in proximity to a campground and being surprised when there is increased negative interactions between campers and dingoes. Which history shows ends up with dingoes being culled, in a similar manner to the major shark culling operations in Western Australia in 2014. There are numerous cases of whales being buried in the beach in locations across Australia, with shark encounters immediately increasing and local councils then reattending to have buried whales exhumed. Casuarina, Ballina, Port Macquarie, 13th Beach Torquay VIC, Margaret River WA to name but a few. 

In addition to this there is also the significant impact that shark encounters have for local businesses reliant on tourism. As was plainly evident and felt in the Byron/Ballina region when Ballina became the shark attack capital of Australia in 2016.

The passing of a beautiful juvenile hump back whale is tragic enough, as such we request that you not exacerbate this situation by  further creating a lasting legacy issues that we the interested parties will be left to deal with and pick up the pieces after. 

Please attend and remove the juvenile humpback from the beach and have it relocated as soon as possible.