Who should take care of rotting whale on private Malibu beach

The following article does not mention that the carcass is on a private beach.
If a beach is private, the owners should be required to take care of it.
If the public are not allowed to use the beach, why should they have to take care of it? The owners of the beach should be billed for the work done by government agencies to remove it.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/07/15755437-shark-bait-rotting-whale-on-malibu-beach-raises-fear?lite

By Miguel Llanos, NBC News
Dec. 7, 2012

While officials on Friday mulled what to do with a whale carcass rotting on a beach in ritzy Malibu, Calif., some locals were worried it might attract some unwanted visitors: sharks.

Five days after the carcass landed on the beach, officials from the city, county and state were still unsure about what to do and who would do it.

"We have not yet been informed of any removal plans," Malibu spokeswoman Olivia Damavandi told NBC News Friday morning.

Readers on Malibu Patch exchanged comments criticizing the delay, and how to dispose of the juvenile fin whale, which weighed an estimated 40,000 pounds before seabirds got to it.

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It appeared to have been hit by a ship and had a gash to its back and a damaged spine, according to the results of a necropsy by the California Wildlife Center.

Fin whales are listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. They can grow to up to 85 feet, weigh up to 80 tons and live for up to 90 years.

The West Coast population of fin whales was estimated at around 2,500 in 2003, down from nearly 3,300 in 1996, the federal government says.


http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/12/dead-whale-on-malibu-beach-stinking-up-celeb-homes/http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/12/dead-whale-on-malibu-beach-stinking-up-celeb-homes/

Los Angeles County Officials say they are planning how to dispose of a decomposing whale at a Malibu, Calif., beach as soon as the low tide begins around Dec. 10. The odoriferous carcass is within a mile radius from the mansions of Barbara Streisand, Bob Dylan, and other celebrities.

The young fin whale drifted ashore between Paradise Cove and Point Dume on Monday Dec. 5 officials said, and had been rotting ever since. The whale is around 35 feet long, and was gutted by California State Wildlife. Los Angeles County officials said that its body was emaciated with the tail intact. They also said that Los Angeles County lifeguards attempted to pull the 40,000-pound carcass out to sea at high tide but were unsuccessful.

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Many agencies have been collaborating in handling the crisis of the decomposing whale. “The County of Los Angeles Lifeguards, the LA County Fire Department, the City of Malibu, and State Parks and Recreations are all consolidating their resources to assist in the matter,” said Sap.

“Dealing with the decomposing whale has been a collaborative effort. Because the whale is on state land many departments are involved,” said Riley.

“The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors was not responsible for disposing of whale… It has drifted to a private beach controlled by homeowners,” Carol Baker, of the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors told ABCNews.com.