Norway Kills Freya, a 1,300-Pound Walrus Who Delighted Onlookers

nytimes.com

11 points·laurex··11 comments

Their argument: They killed it because morons always kept going too close to it, placing them at lethal risk.

Their argument: Regarding moving it: The risk of it dying while moving it, or getting seriously hurt from the move outweighed chances of success.

I don't understand this argument. Why are we not free to do something stupid and die? Why after every death, people say that this and that should be not allowed to prevent further death?

Norway has what you might call a graduated policy towards that. There are places in the country where you're on your own. Go there and take what risks you like. (I've met people in such areas who were there without a map and with risky ideas about wildlife.) But the beaches near the big cities aren't. City parks aren't either.

Norway also places rather low value on the life of an animal. A species or habitat is important, a herd may be depending on species and location, a single animal not so much.

OK, imagine a 3 year old kid wants to go "pet the walrus". Are we going to be comfortable with a 3 year old kid winning a Darwin award? I know most people aren't, and their lack of decision on what to do will ruin their life as well as that of their families, and the family of the victim.

As a nature-lover and animal-lover, I hate what happened.

I imagined it and I am comfortable with it. It's parents fault if it happens.

I don't have to visit a walrus in Norway to find grave safety risks to an unattended three-year-old; they are right outside the window.

For what it's worth: Volunteers have raised USD15000 to raise a statue in it's memory.

It was their argument

An absolutely unnecessary sacrifice.

https://archive.ph/vwbI2

They really should have tried harder on this one.

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