PEOPLE are being urged to keep dogs on leads and refrain from touching the remains of a dead whale that was found near Widemouth Bay recently.

Jon Gerrish was walking his dog mid-morning on Wednesday, January 23, when he came across the dead animal, which is believed to be a fin whale. He said: “I found a great big lump of something big, which I initially thought was a cow. Then I went along a bit further and found what was obviously a messed up whale in the stream near Widemouth. Then there have just been bits of whale spread across Black Rock beach.”

The first step Jon took was warning local dog walkers to keep their distance, as whale carcasses have been known to carry zoonotic diseases. Then he phoned the Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s marine animal hotline, which sent a volunteer to the beach to assess the carcass, tag it and log the animal’s information into a database.

Parts of the whale are still visible around the area, so it is advised for any walkers to keep their distance and refrain from touching the animal.

Anyone who spots a dead marine animal should call the Cornwall Wildlife Trust hotline immediately on 0345 201 2626.