(CNN) The carcass of a pregnant sperm whale that washed up in Sardinia, Italy, last week had 22 kilograms (49 pounds) of plastic in its stomach, and was carrying a dead fetus, the country's environment minister and a marine life non-profit organization said.

Luca Bittau, president of the SeaMe group, told CNN the beached mammal's remains contained "garbage bags ... fishing nets, lines, tubes, the bag of a washing machine liquid still identifiable, with brand and barcode ... and other objects no longer identifiable."

"She was pregnant and had almost certainly aborted before (she) beached," he said. "The fetus was in an advanced state of composition."

The whale had 22 kilograms (49 pounds) of plastic in its stomach.

The dead animal, which was eight meters (26 feet) long, washed up on a beach in the Sardinian tourist hotspot of Porto Cervo.

Bittau said the cause of death would be known after histological and toxicological examinations carried out by veterinarians in Padua, northern Italy.

Read More