An investigation has been launched by federal authorities into the “butchered” remains of a dolphin that were recently discovered in New Jersey.

Dolphin Remains Found

On November 1, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in New Jersey published a statement on social media detailing how the remains were found near Allenhurst, New Jersey. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center is a New Jersey organization that handles reports of dead or stranded marine animals.

“On Wednesday October 30th the Marine Mammal Stranding Center responded to a very disturbing call. The partial remains of a dolphin had been discovered on the beach at Allen Ave. in Allenhurst, NJ. When our Stranding Coordinator arrived, he found a Common dolphin that appeared to have been butchered,” the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said in a post on social media.

“The animal’s flesh had been completely removed with clean cuts from a sharp instrument, leaving only the head, dorsal fin and flukes. The animal’s organs, except for the heart and lungs, had been removed,” the statement added.

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center statement noted that the case of the dolphin remains is currently under investigation “by the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement.”

“The public is asked to call MMSC’s 24-hour hotline if they have any information about this case (609) 266-0538,” the statement said.

Witnesses

According to the statement from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, a witness also noticed a “live common dolphin” that appeared to be “struggling in the surf,” roughly one block away from where the dolphin remains were found.

“Witnesses reported that the dolphin was able to make it over the sandbar and swam back out,” the statement said.

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center noted that it is currently unclear if the dolphin seen struggling was the same animal as the recovered remains.

“The dolphin’s remains were brought to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center to be thoroughly documented and photographed by MMSC staff. The carcass was buried on the beach,” the statement said.

Stranded Dolphins

Over the summer, more than 100 dead dolphins were recovered after washing up along the coast in Russia.

A total of 137 of the Black Sea variety have been found lifeless in the Krasnodar Territory and Sirius region, with over 101 stranded in just the last week alone, dolphin rescue and research center Delfa said in a statement posted to Telegram.

“This is a serious figure,” said the rescue center, which has a hotline “bursting with calls every day.”

Many of the dead dolphins have “obvious signs” of being victims of bycatch, which is when mammals are harmed after becoming tangled in fishing nets.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.

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In a spectacular display of democracy, record numbers of voters across New Jersey spoke up during early voting, appearing before Superior Court Judges to challenge their possible disenfranchisement — and winning. Sometimes, honest mistakes are made, underscoring the need for voters to self-advocate

After observing a large number of court hearings over the last week — and in advance of Election Day hearings where voters may seek to protect their own right to vote — here are seven takeaways:

1.  Voter Registration in New Jersey is not one-size-fits-all.   Judges have to apply the law to the facts. Still, since very few voters show up in court with an election lawyer, sometimes identical facts are presented differently by deputy attorneys general and the prospective voter – and interpreted differently by a Superior Court Judge.  In one county, a judge allowed a man who registered one day late to vote (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but in other counties, judges strictly followed the statute.  |

2.  The U.S. Postal Service is erratic regarding returning sample ballots to election officials.  In a different era, letter carriers were front line workers who knew their mail route well enough to realize when a voter no longer lived at an address – even when a family member moved out – and returned the sample ballot as undeliverable.  That’s not necessarily the case anymore.  Some voters turned away from early voting centers in their new county are still registered at their old addresses, while others have been removed from the voter roll in their new county.

3.  Arguments by Deputy Attorneys General and rulings by judges, no doubt well-intentioned, were inconsistent.  Some judges erred on the side of voters; others did not.  Some DAGs pulled from other Division of Law assignments to take an election shift had no idea what they were talking about.  Most judges knew what they were doing, but not all.  Disenfranchisement was less likely when someone was there to advocate on their behalf; to their credit, lawyers for both parties put the right to vote ahead of partisanship.  Among the problems: most hearings involved a would-be voter, a deputy attorney general aiming to prevent them from voting, and a judge.

4. The Motor Vehicles Commission bears some responsibility for the disenfranchisement of voters, and its frightened director, Latrecia Littles-Floyd, ought to be held accountable for not having her act together.  Lots of voter registration issues stemmed from the MVC (several judges still refer to them as the DMV).  Too many would-be voters told judges they believed they changed addresses at an MVC office when records show otherwise.  Some – but not all – judges opted to believe the voter.

5. The lack of understanding of New Jersey election laws by many voters was overwhelming.  Most voters rejected by judges – young and old — had no idea there was a voter registration deadline.  There was a chilling lack of knowledge on changing voter registrations to new addresses.  Some newly minted U.S. citizens were unaware they didn’t automatically become voters.

6. While large numbers of voters appeared before a judge, others likely didn’t know that was an option.  It’s statistically unlikely that zero voters challenged their disenfranchisement in Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Salem, Sussex, and Warren counties, but that’s what happened.  It’s possible poll workers didn’t tell voters they turned away about their right to appear before a judge; it’s also possible that voters in those counties will have a higher-than-usual number of provisional ballots.

7. There is nothing nefarious going on here.  The New Jersey Globe didn’t observe any instances of fraud – just regular people wanting to vote.