Photo: TOR ERIK SCHRDER/NTB/AFP via Getty Images
Norwegian authorities euthanized Freya thewalrusafter they determined the 1300-lb. animal stood as a risk to humans.
On Monday,Norway’s Directorate of Fisheriesannounced that it had killed the walrus, which has been anactive presence in the Oslo fjord on Norway’s southeast coast in recent weeks. Officials made the decision to put the animal down early Sunday after observing the animal’s interactions with the public and deciding “that the public has disregarded the current recommendation to keep a clear distance to the walrus.”
“The decision to euthanize the walrus was made based on an overall assessment of the continued threat to human safety,” Frank Bakke-Jensen, Norway’s Director General of Fisheries, said in a statement.
Personnel with the Directorate of Fisheries put down the walrus following “current routines and regulations for euthanasia for marine mammals,” according to the statement, and informed police and the country’s animal welfare authorities what they were doing prior to putting Freya down.
“We have considered all possible solutions carefully. We concluded that we could not ensure the animals welfare through any means available,” Bakke-Jensen said in the release.
TOR ERIK SCHRDER/NTB/AFP via Getty Images
On Sunday, the Directorate of Fisheriessaid in a statementthat it had “deliberated thoroughly with the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research” about potentially moving Freya to no avail.
“The extensive complexity of such an operation made us conclude that this was not a viable option,” Bakke-Jensen said. “There were several animal welfare concerns associated with a possible relocation.”
“We have sympathies for the fact that the decision can cause reactions with the public, but I am firm that this was the right call,” Bakke-Jensen added. “We have great regard for animal welfare, but human life and safety must take precedence.”
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On Thursday, the Directorate of Fisheries warned thatFreya could be put downif onlookers did not heed warnings to stay away from the mammal and continue displaying “negligent behavior.” The Directorate said in a release then that animal welfare professionals had already determined that the animal had grown stressed due to its interactions with humans.
“The fact that the walrus has become an attraction escalates the need for further measures. Our biggest fear is that people could get hurt,” said Nadia Jdaini, the directorate’s senior communications advisor, in Thursday’s release.
She added, “We are talking about partly large crowds of all ages, where all people clearly deviate from the current recommendations to keep their distance.”
Freya had made headlines for months as the walrus traveled across Norway and Northern Europe, leaving a string of damaged boats in her wake,NBC News reportedin July.
The lone animal was also sighted off the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden,according toUSA Today, with Norway growing into the most recent — and ultimately final — stop on her summer tour before the Directorate of Fisheries stepped in.
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Freya was first spotted around northern parts of the country in 2019,the BBC reportedin July, citing the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
source: people.com
