🐬 Butchered dolphin found on NJ beach
🐬 Dolphin seen struggling nearby
🐬 Is it legal to eat dolphin?

WARNING: Graphic Photo below

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center is investigating who butchered a dolphin and left its carcass on the beach in Allenhurst.

In a social media post, Center officials say they received a "very disturbing call" on Oct. 30.

A dolphin carcass had been found on the Allen Ave. beach.

When the stranding coordinator arrived at the scene, "The animal’s flesh had been completely removed with clean cuts from a sharp instrument, leaving only the head, dorsal fin and flukes," the post said, "The animal’s organs, except for the heart and lungs, had been removed."

The carcass was that of a Common dolphin. The night before the grisly discovery was made, a Common dolphin was spotted struggling in the surf about a block away from the Allen Ave beach.

Witnesses, however, said that dolphin made it back over the sandbar and out to sea.

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center say it is not clear if it was the same dolphin whose carcass was found on the beach.

Center staff removed the carcass and brought it back to their facility in Brigantine to be documented.

Is it legal to eat Dolphin?

While the Common dolphin is not considered an endangered species, they are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

All marine mammals, including dolphins and whales, are protected in U.S. waters.

As such, it is illegal to kill and consume dolphin meat in the United States.

Some restaurants serve "dolphin," but this is a fish (also called Mahi Mahi) and not the same as the marine mammal dolphins that are protected.

Penalties involving improper treatment of marine mammals are severe and can be prosecuted civilly or criminally.

The penalty for killing a dolphin in the U.S. can be up to a year in jail and a fine up to $100,000.

The discovery of the butchered dolphin is being treated as a criminal case and is being investigated by the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement.

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