There’s still a chance to own your very own bloated sperm whale carcass.

Even though the town of Cape St. George, N.L., has been foiled by eBay in its attempt to sell a beached sperm whale that washed up on its shores last week, the mayor remains hopeful someone will take the 12-metre carcass off his hands.

Peter Fenwick, the mayor of the town on Newfoundland’s west coast, put the whale up for sale on eBay. “Once the fat and flesh is removed you have a spectacular 40-foot (12-metre) skeleton of the largest toothed whale in the world, great for museums and other attractions,” the listing stated.

But the website took the listing down Monday because it violates its policies on animals and wildlife products. Bidding had jumped from $238.03 to $2,075 within a couple of hours Monday before the auction was closed.

Despite the setback, Fenwick is sure the whale’s skeleton would be a welcome addition to a museum somewhere.

“Our major objective was to get rid of the whale, and we feel that there may be enough out there who know about it, who may be interested in it,” said Fenwick.

“If they want a free whale, we’ll be glad to give it to them, provided they can make suitable arrangements to remove it from the beach and put it in a place where it’s not a major annoyance to the community.”

Fenwick said the whale carcass lies in cold water and hasn’t begun to rot. He’s hoping the whale has a satisfied buyer with a plan to tow it away before that becomes a problem.

Fenwick said a decaying sperm whale “stinks to high heaven” and is a fly magnet.

“They’re full of gas — bloated,” Fenwick said. “They are really rank. It’s a terrible smell.”

“If it stays there, it’ll be a problem.”

He suggests the buyer tow the carcass off to an unpopulated beach and then let seagulls, insects and other wildlife residents strip away the blubber.

“It’ll probably take a year or so to get down to the skeleton,” he said.

None of the local boats is big enough to tow it, he said, although a tug boat up the coastline might be able to handle it.

He said this is the first time his community — population 950 — has turned to eBay to sell a whale.

“We knew we had to do something with it and this seemed to be the least expensive way of disposing of it,” Fenwick said.

Fenwick said the town received a disturbing phone call on Monday morning from someone who said he was a federal official. The caller said it’s illegal to sell the whale on eBay because it’s an endangered species, Fenwick said.

A spokesperson for the federal Department of the Environment and Conservation in St. John’s said they made no such call.

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The sperm whale is also a source of ambergris, used in perfume making.

Trout River and Rocky Harbour, communities about 150 km north of Cape St. George, drew international attention recently when some local residents expressed concern about the possibility of beached blue whale carcasses exploding on their shorelines.

Those two communities have reached a deal with the Royal Ontario Museum to get rid of their blue whale carcasses.

With files from The Canadian Press

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