A dead juvenile humpback measuring eight metres has closed a Victorian beach until further notice due to fears the carcass could attract sharks.
The whale washed up at Sandy Point Beach in the state’s Gippsland region yesterday morning, a few hundred metres from the local surf lifesaving club.
The mammal is decomposing with bites along its tail after being partially eaten by sharks in the water.
“The beach has been closed to prevent possible human health impacts as the whale decomposes,” the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action said on social media.
“Whales are protected under the Wildlife Act.
“It is an offence for people or their dogs to be within 300 metres of a whale, whether it is dead or alive.
“It is an offence to interfere with, take or be in possession of parts of a dead whale.”
Sandy Point Beach is expected to closed until Monday.
