Operation to clear pod of 30 whales will cost over €10,000

Donegal County Council has been told that the operation to clear a pod of over 30 dead whales which were washed up on Rutland Island in November will cost over €10,000. The money will have to come from the council’s own resources.
Acting Director of Service Joe Peoples told members the clear up operation would cost over €10,000, and at this stage, not all of the payments have been made for the clean-up exercise.
Cllr. David Alcorn, who raised the issue, also asked whether the county council would be reimbursed for the expenditure. Mr. Peoples said that they would not.
The 33 whale pod had been observed in waters between Arranmore Island and Burtonport during the week before they beached themselves on Rutland. Initially, the council planned to bury the whales on Rutland, but after concerns were expressed locally, it was decided to take the carcasses off the island and bring them to an incinerator in Cavan.