WASHINGTON – Environmental groups are calling for an investigation of former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after the resurfacement of a 2012 interview with his daughter in which she said he used a chainsaw to cut off the head of a dead whale.
In an interview published in Town & Country magazine, her daughter claimed that Kennedy tied the whale's head with bungee cords “to the roof of the family's minivan and transported it five hours to Mount Kisco, New York. She said the whale washed up on Squaw Island in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, when she was six years old.
“Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale fluid would pour out of the car window – it's the most disgusting thing on earth,” Kick Kennedy said.
The Center for Biodiversity Action Fund sent a letter to the NOAA on Monday arguing that under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to possess “any part of an animal, whether dead or alive,” according to the letter obtained by USA Today.
“There are good reasons why it is illegal for anyone to take or keep any part of an endangered species,” the groups wrote in the letter.
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“Most importantly, when individuals scavenge wildlife carcasses and disrupt scientists' work, important research opportunities are missed. This is particularly true for marine mammals, which are some of the most difficult wildlife species to study in the world. In fact, some beaked whales are so difficult to observe that the only way scientists learn about them is when dead whales wash up on shore,” the researchers added.
The group called on NOAA officials to require Kennedy to turn over “all illegally obtained wildlife that remains in his possession.”
“We urge NOAA to also consider all appropriate civil and criminal penalties in light of Mr. Kennedy's reckless disregard for two of the nation's most important ocean protection laws,” they said.
USA Today has reached out to Kennedy's spokesperson for comment.