Cutting off heads of animals to obscure the bodycount

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Dead animals

Those who want to document the situation on the ground are given an even harder time. Consequently, it took a while before insight was gained into the way BP handles dead anmials. The first weeks after the disaster, they were all collected. They weren't numerous however, since most of the oil slick was still far offshore. But ever since the oil is polluting beaches and marshlands, BP has changed tactics: the cleaning crews have to assemble the carcasses, which are then destroyed. This is told by workers that decide not to obey the silence order, and other witnesses. "To make absolutely sure, the heads need to be chopped off" said one of the workers. Why? Then an autopsy can no longer be performed, and the animals cannot be included in the count anymore.
The bodycount of dead animals is an essential part in determining the height of the damages BP will have to pay. Just like the company has an interest to minimize the size of the leak, it wants as few dead animals counted as possible. Because dead animals aren't just bad PR - they cost a lot of money too.

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