Lifestyle Pets Dead Pregnant Sperm Whale Washes Ashore in Sardinia with 48 Lbs. of Plastic in Her Stomach The World Wildlife Federation says 150,000 to 500,000 tons of plastic objects end up in European seas each year By Kelli Bender Kelli Bender Kelli Bender is the Pets Editor at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2013. Her work has previously appeared on MTV, The Frisky, Vice, and Best Friends Magazine. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 2, 2019 03:21PM EDT Yet another whale has turned up dead with a stomach full of plastic waste. According to The Associated Press, the carcass of a 26-foot sperm whale washed up on Sardinia’s northern shore on Thursday. Worse yet, the whale was discovered within the bounds of the Pelagos marine sanctuary — a 33,783 sq. mile marine area “subject to an agreement between Italy, Monaco and France for the protection of marine mammals, which live in it,” says the website for the sanctuary. The dead female whale’s stomach contained 48 lbs. of plastic, including “a corrugated tube for electrical works, plastic plates, shopping bags, tangled fishing lines and a washing detergent package with its bar code still legible,” reports AP. Dead Curvier Beaked Whale Found with 80 Lbs. of Plastic Bags in Stomach: ‘It’s Disgusting’ Unfortunately, the experts performing the necropsy also found the whale was carrying a dead fetus, reports the New York Times. It is likely both the mother and her baby died because the adult whale was unable to digest food due to the plastic waste filling two-thirds of her stomach. SEAME Sardinia Onlus “She was pregnant and had almost certainly aborted before (she) beached. The fetus was in an advanced state of composition,” Luca Bittau, president of the SeaMe group, told CNN. Bittau said histological and toxicological examinations are currently bering carried out by veterinarians in Padua, Italy. These exams should reveal an official cause of death. RELATED VIDEO: A Pilot Whale Has Died in Southern Thailand After Swallowing 17 Pounds of Plastic Waste The World Wildlife Federation says this whale’s death, and the death of other whales due to plastic waste over the past two years, shows the danger plastic poses to marine life. According to the WWF, up to 150,000 to 500,000 tons of plastic objects end up in European seas each year. Dead Sperm Whale Found with 150 Plastic Cups, 25 bags, 2 Flip-Flops and More Trash in Stomach European countries have recently passed laws to combat this environmental danger. European Parliament approved a law last week banning many single-use plastic products that will go into effect in 2021. Italy’s environment minister, Sergio Costa, said that Italy will work to adopt the ban ahead of 2021 and is planning to introduce their own laws to reduce the use of plastics in the country. Costa announced this news on Facebook, adding “the war on disposable plastic has begun. And we won’t stop here.” News of this sperm whale’s death comes just two weeks after a juvenile male curvier beaked whale was found washed ashore in the Philippines with 88 lbs. of plastic bags in its stomach.