Carcass criticsstill blubbering

The rotting whale carcass may have been removed from a popular Perth beach, but its remains are still causing a stink.

The 30-tonne humpback whale sitting outside Tamala Park landfill site, in Perth's northern suburbs. Picture Channel Nine/Channel 10

The rotting whale carcass may have been removed from a popular Perth beach, but its remains are still causing a stink.

WA Opposition spokesman Dave Kelly said the State Government should have taken action earlier to avoid having 30 tonnes of “shark bait” on Scarborough Beach.

He said he was directing his comments to Premier Colin Barnett, in light of his strong stance on shark mitigation near WA beaches.

“They should have very early on considered the possibility of towing the whale further out to sea,” he said.

Scarborough, Brighton and South Trigg beaches had to be closed when sharks were seen near the 17m humpback whale carcass, which washed up on Scarborough Beach last Sunday night. A temporary fence had been erected around the whale on Monday night and it was kept “under guard” by security after authorities failed to remove the animal that day.

Authorities struggled to fit the large tail into the truck, but the vehicle eventually made it to landfill, although it had to wait until morning for the site to open.

Removing the whale has been an expensive operation, with some estimating the price to be about $100,000.

A 26-year-old man known only as Harrison made international headlines after he swam from his friend’s boat to sit on the back of the humpback carcass last Saturday afternoon.

He later admitted his actions were stupid, considering the rotting whale had attracted at least one large shark.