Calls For Probe Into RFK Jr. After Cape Cod Whale Story Resurfaces

HYANNIS PORT, MA — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the recent presidential hopeful and recent appointee to the Donald Trump transition team, is in the news again for another bizarre animal story.

The Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund is calling on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to open an investigation into Kennedy after a story told by his daughter was resurfaced.

In 2012, Town & Country interviewed Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, who shared that, in 1994, a whale carcass washed ashore near the family compound in Hyannis Port, on Cape Cod. Kennedy shared that her father, upon hearing that the whale was on the shore outside, used a chainsaw to behead the whale before tying it to the roof of the family van and driving it back to New York.

"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," Kennedy 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 Center for Biological Diversity hopes NOAA will open an investigation into whether Kennedy violated federal wildlife protection laws.

"RFK Jr. cutting off the head of a dead whale was both bizarre and illegal, and any serious environmental attorney would know better," said Brett Hartl, national political director at the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund. "Kennedy may think that his name and privilege mean the rules don’t apply to him, but if he had a shred of integrity left he’d surrender this whale skull and any other illegally collected wildlife parts to the authorities. If he doesn’t, NOAA law enforcement should open an investigation and potentially bring charges against him."

This story comes a few weeks after New York City residents solved a nearly decade-old mystery of how a dead bear cub ended up in Central Park next to an abandoned bike. Kennedy Jr. took responsibility for dropping the animal's body in Central Park almost 10 years ago.

Read more: RFK Jr. Solves Years-Long Mystery Of Dead Bear Cub In Central Park