RFK Jr under scrutiny after bizarre whale incident

RFK Jr. faces scrutiny over past whale beheading and bear cub dumping, sparking calls for investigation.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing renewed scrutiny after a bizarre story resurfaced, involving him beheading a dead whale and transporting its head on the roof of his family’s minivan. The incident, originally recounted by his daughter Kathleen Alexandra “Kick” Kennedy in a 2012 interview with Town and Country, has prompted environmentalists to call for a government investigation into whether RFK Jr. violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.

In the interview, Kick Kennedy detailed how, at the age of six, her father learned of a dead whale that had washed ashore at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Armed with a chainsaw, RFK Jr. reportedly severed the whale's head, strapped it to the family’s minivan with bungee cords, and embarked on a four to five-hour drive to Mount Kisco, New York. Kick recalled, “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... but that was just normal day-to-day stuff for us.”

The resurfacing of this story has led the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund to urge the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to investigate RFK Jr. for potential legal violations. The agency stated, “It is illegal to possess any part of an animal, dead or alive, that is protected under either statute,” and emphasized that possession of the whale skull represents a significant violation of the law.

This controversy follows another recent revelation where RFK Jr. admitted to dumping a bear cub's carcass in New York’s Central Park in 2014. Authorities have since confirmed that he will not face state charges for that incident.

RFK Jr., who recently ended his independent presidential campaign and endorsed Donald Trump, continues to draw attention for his unconventional behavior and statements.