The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has confirmed that they are investigating an incident involving Robert F. Kennedy Jr. allegedly decapitating a dead whale carcass and transporting it home two decades ago. Kennedy revealed during a campaign event in Arizona that he received a letter from the National Marine Fisheries Services, a division of NOAA, notifying him of the investigation related to an incident that occurred 20 years ago.
A spokesperson for NOAA acknowledged that Kennedy is indeed under investigation for the said incident. However, the spokesperson mentioned that it is NOAA's standard practice not to comment on ongoing investigations.
This story resurfaced following Kennedy's decision to suspend his presidential campaign last month, triggered by a 2012 interview with his daughter, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, where she recounted an incident involving her father using a chainsaw to remove the head of a dead whale carcass on a beach near their Cape Cod family home and then transporting the whale's head to New York.
After the incident gained traction on social media, the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund called for NOAA to look into Kennedy's actions, expressing concerns that his actions may have compromised scientific research efforts.
In response to being informed of the investigation, Kennedy wrote a letter to NOAA, where he criticized the group for what he perceives as the negative impact of 'giant offshore wind farms off the East Coast' on marine wildlife.
