Vigil held for euthanized humpback whale stuck in Long Island bay

MORICHES BAY (FOX 5 NY) - Hundreds of people gathered in Long Island Sunday to hold a vigil for the humpback whale that was euthanized on Wednesday.

The young humpback was stuck on a sandbar in Moriches Bay for four days. When volunteers and an environmental group, Riverhead Foundation of Marine Research and Preservation, tried freeing the whale, officials told them it was against federal law to touch the whale.

By the time officials came onto the scene, the whale needed to be euthanized.

A petition was created to call on NY officials to train volunteers to rescue beached whales if ever they become stranded in local waters so no future whales will have to be euthanized.

So far, thousands have signed the petition.