Multiple dogs sick after eating decaying humpback whale on Haida Gwaii

Multiple dogs are severely ill after eating meat from the carcass of a decaying humpback whale on Haida Gwaii, prompting a public safety warning from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

Officials say the whale washed up in the Masset Inlet area and is in the "process of putrefying." 

"The carcass was found floating last week," said Chase Edwards, a fish officer in Haida Gwaii. "It actually beached in Old Masset and the current and the tide took it back again, then [it] was found a couple of days later south of Masset."

In a written statement, DFO says a necropsy was performed on Nov. 9. It will take several months for a cause of death to be determined. 

In the meantime, the department warns the public to avoid touching the carcass and to prevent their pets from doing so.

"Apart [from] the concerns around botulism in the dead whale carcass that make it unfit for consumption, marine mammal meat and blubber can also contain high levels of toxins and heavy metals," a DFO statement reads.

Edwards tells CBC the carcass, located in an area right off a highway, attracted locals and tourists, who likely brought their dogs along. 

"Lots of people were down there, but unfortunately, it sounds like the dogs potentially ingested some of the whale," said Edwards. 

Edwards says the whale's remains will likely be left in the area.

"It's an important part of the food web for the marine and terrestrial organisms to use as food," Edwards said. "Often the carcass is preferred to be left there from a DFO standpoint and a biologist standpoint."

He says municipalities can arrange for the whale to be moved if the smell is overwhelming.

Anyone who has eaten the whale meat, or who has pets that may have done so, is asked to inform Haida Gwaii fishery officers at 250-559-8532 or 250-626-3316 in Masset.