Environmental group calls for investigation of RFK Jr. chainsawing whale head
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears on FOX News Sunday on Aug. 25 Washington, D.C. Photo: Shannon Finney/Getty Images
An environmental advocacy organization called for the investigation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. following the resurfacing of an interview where his daughter said he cut a dead whale's head with a chainsaw.
Why it matters: The former presidential candidate may have committed a felony by transporting a marine mammal skull, the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund said.
- The center's national political director, Brett Hartl, urged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to investigate the incident.
- Kennedy's media contacts did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
The big picture: Kennedy cut off a whale's head with a chainsaw in or around 1994 after finding out that it washed up on Squaw Island in Hyannis Port, Mass., his daughter Kick Kennedy told Town & Country Magazine in 2012.
- He bungee-corded it to the roof of the family's minivan and drove it to Mount Kisco, N.Y., she said.
- "Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet," Kick said in the interview.
- "We all had plastic bags over our heads with mouth holes cut out, and people on the highway were giving us the finger, but that was just normal day-to-day stuff for us."
The latest: Hartl said it is illegal to posses "any part of an animal" protected by the Marine Mammal Protection and Endangered Species acts.
- Transporting the skull across state lines would amount to a felony violation of the 1900 Lacey Act, "which prohibits the transportation of any wildlife, dead or alive, that was reduced to possession in violation of any state, federal or international regulation or law," Hartl said.
Catch up quick: Earlier this month, Kennedy admitted to leaving a dead bear cub in New York City's Central Park a decade ago.
What they're saying: "Normally, an unverified anecdote would not provide sufficient evidence as the basis for conducting an investigation," Hartl said.
- "However, Mr. Kennedy has admitted that he has recklessly — and with no regard to legal requirements — taken other species of wildlife for his own personal benefit."
- The letter said Kennedy should, at a minimum, surrender "any and all illegally obtained wildlife that he continues to possess."
State of play: Kennedy said on Friday he'd suspend his independent presidential campaign and support former President Trump, the GOP nominee.
Go deeper:
