HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong official vowed Tuesday to consider legal changes and set protocols to better protect whales after the discovery of a dead cetacean sparked anger on social media and speculation the death was caused by bystanders. .
Environment and Ecology Secretary Tse Chin-wan said it was not clear whether the whale’s injuries caused its death. But he suggested that mammal-watching activities may have affected or injured the animal after it was sighted in mid-July.
“The incident shows that we may be treating wildlife inappropriately,” Tse told a news conference.
The official vowed to strengthen public education, set standards for whale management and reassess existing laws, which he said limit authorities’ ability to restrict vessel access to certain areas.
On Monday, complaints proliferated on social networks that bystanders who came to the area in the last two weeks, after the discovery of the whale, caused its death.
The cetacean was discovered in Sai Kung, a district famous for its beaches and hiking trails.
Last week, the Hong Kong Ocean Conservation Foundation said crowds of people were trying to get close to the animal, which had been cut by motorboats. The group warned in a statement that human activity could be stressing the animal.
Foundation director Howard Chuk said the whale had sustained “relatively large and deep” new wounds.
Authorities are conducting a necropsy.
