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Frustrated by a lack of help from the government, a town on Newfoundland’s west coast tried to auction off a sperm whale carcass on eBay.

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The gigantic dead mammal washed up in Cape St. George a week ago, Mayor Peter Fenwick told Canada.com. In Newfoundland, animal carcasses are the responsibility of the municipality they wash up in, even if they’re 12 metres long and weigh 25 or 30 tons like this one does.

Disposing of a dead whale is no easy task and whether its buried, towed out to sea or sliced up to preserve the bones, it requires equipment and funds the town just doesn’t have. Although Fenwick said he’d like to preserve the bones, “it’s just not within our financial capability.”

Bidding started at 99 cents and was past $2,000 by the time the auction was taken offline. Although quite accurately placed in the “really weird” category, the auction violated eBay’s rules which state “items made from marine mammals regardless of when the product was made” are prohibited.

However, that was only one of the wrinkles in Fenwick’s plan. The second came in the form of a call from the federal government on Monday afternoon.

“I received a call from the federal department of the environment saying that you’re not allowed to sell any parts of sperm whales, even if they’re dead,” said Fenwick.