Residents of Pine Cove, Newfoundland, say the smell from a rotting whale carcass is unbearable. (CBC)

People in Pines Cove, N.L., say a rotting whale carcass that the province had towed out to sea months ago has come back, and the stink is unbearable.

At the end of April, a 10-metre long whale carcass rolled up on a beach near the community on the province's Great Northern Peninsula.

Audrey Parrill says it was exactly 37 steps away from her door. She counted.

"I figured that was too close for comfort for a whale here, 35 feet [10 metres long], to rot next to my house," said Parrill.

She called to have it taken away and the provincial Department of Government Services paid a contractor to remove the whale. It was towed to an uninhabited island.

Two weeks ago, a whale carcass washed up on the Pines Cove beach, this time next to the home of Rita Parrill, Audrey's sister. Rita thinks it's the same whale.

"We was shocked, because when you tow something off in the deep you wouldn't be expecting it to come back, would you?" Rita Parrill said.

Officials with the province say the carcass will be removed, but it can't possibly happen soon enough for residents.

The stench from the carcass is unbearable, Rita Parrill said, and she's worried it will only get worse. "If the weather comes hot, we're not going to be able to open windows because it's too near, hey? I think it's very unhealthy."