Cow carcasses are washing up on the beaches of Brazil in the aftermath of a ship sinking earlier this month.

Mother Jones reports the ship was carrying 4,900 head of cattle when it sank near the port of Vila do Conde in the Amazon region of northern Brazil.

Most of the animals drowned inside the vessel. Of the 500 that managed to make it off the ship, only 100 went on to survive.

Soon, the drowned bodies begin to appear on the Brazilian coast. Local families were able to load some of the carcasses for meat, but the majority were left rotting on the beaches.

Several photos on social media showed the masses of dead cattle decomposing on the beaches.

The situation has become a potentially devastating environmental issue. Not only are the thousands of local fisherman perturbed by the rotting scent, they're also concerned that the fish and drinking water may have been contaminated.

Authorities are already working on removing the dead bodies from the beaches, but are at lost on what to do about the over 4,000 bodies that are rotting under the surface.

Another concern is the 2 million gallons of fuel that went down with the ship and must be removed before the animal carcasses. The disaster is estimated to cost up to $200 million, and that may not even account for the long-term detriment to the local environment.

Shipping cattle is a common practice in Brazil, so much so that the Ministry of Agriculture reports the country exported $675 million worth of live cattle last year.

Many countries, such as Jordan and Lebanon, prefer to sell live cows so customers can slaughter in accordance with Islamic religious practice.

The ship was owned by Brazilian beef company Minerva Foods, which had a previous shipping incident involving cows in 2012.

Watch footage of the beach disaster below: