Two Irish villages are fighting with each other to decide which is allowed to keep the carcass of a 20m fin whale that was stranded and died earlier this month.
The whale, which died in Courtmacsherry Bay in south west Cork despite frantic attempts to save it, is now being fought over by the villages of Courtmacsherry and Kilbrittain, which are on opposite sides of the bay.
Residents from Kilbrittain removed the whale’s jawbones and have stored them in a secret location, insisting that the mammal died on their side of the harbour.
Kevin Murphy, a spokesman for Kilbrittain county council, said: “I would describe this as a friendly argument between the villages.”
John Young, chairman of Courtmacsherry Development Association, said: “We don’t want to fight with Kilbrittain over this. We are neighbours but let’s try to come to a compromise on it.”
