The Directorate of Fisheries Frank Bakke-Jensen stated that “the decision to euthanize Freya, the walrus was decided based on an overall assessment of the continuous hazard to human safety.”
Freya the walrus Death.
Freya, a 1,300-pound walrus who gained notoriety this summer by sinking boats, was reportedly murdered by Norwegian officials on Sunday. They claimed she was put to death owing to concerns for the public’s safety raised by the large crowds she attracted.
Authorities in Norway decided that a walrus that had attracted large groups of onlookers in the Oslo Fjord presented a risk to people and decided to put it to death.
Freya, Norwegian walrus Cause of death
Authorities in Norway decided to put a walrus to death after determining that it posed a risk to people and had drawn big crowds of observers to the Oslo Fjord.
Officials expressed hope that Freya would depart of her own volition and that euthanasia would only be used as a last resort as recently as last month, despite the fact that walruses are protected.
Freya was killed early on Sunday, according to Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries, “based on an overall assessment of the persistent threat to human safety.”
Who was Freya?
Freya, named after the Norse goddess of love and beauty, has been making news since she was discovered in the waters off the coast of the Norwegian capital on July 17.
How did Freya become popular?
The walrus, whose name alludes to the Norse goddess of love and fertility, gained notoriety in recent months as she traversed the nation’s shoreline, causing damage to boats and ships after getting aboard to rest for days or weeks at a time.
Rune Aae, a Ph.D. student in scientific didactics at the University of South-Eastern Norway, has charted Freya’s voyage using photographs taken by scientists and amateur photographers and published on social media and online databases. However, she has already been observed as early as 2019, he claims.
What are walrus?
Walruses typically inhabit the Arctic’s extremely northernmost regions.
Freya was captured on camera chasing a duck, assaulting a swan, and, more frequently than not, napping on boats that were struggling to support her weight in between her protracted naps (a walrus may sleep for up to 20 hours per day).
The walrus, a species that is protected, mostly eats invertebrates including mollusks, shrimp, crabs, and tiny fish.
The Public outrage and official statements
Aae called the killing of Freya by authorities “extremely hasty” and “totally unnecessary” in a Facebook post on Sunday. He mentioned that Freya had been sufficiently tracked to ensure that the general people could avoid her and that with the summer vacations shortly coming to an end, there would be fewer bystanders.
Norwegians went to the Oslo coast in recent weeks to watch Freya eat, sleep, and relax as Norwegian media outlets tracked her excursions this summer. Her single appearance off the capital’s shores — some 1,200 miles from where experts believe she was from — was all the more intriguing given that walruses generally reside in herds in the Arctic.
The reason Freya was drawn to the boats, according to experts, was because they reminded her of Arctic ice floes. They recommended boat owners stay away from her and park their boats so that Freya would find them more difficult to access.
As the Arctic ice melts due to climate change, more walruses are hunting on land, increasing competition for food, which could account for Freya’s extensive excursions.
Since walruses are a protected species in Norway, the Directorate of Fisheries stated in a statement last month that killing the animals was the “final resort” and “out of the question.”
The Globe Wildlife Fund estimates that there are roughly 225,000 walruses in the world.
According to the statement made public on Sunday, Freya constituted a “high” threat of potential injury to admirers and observers who disregarded official instructions to keep their distance from the animal.
“We thoroughly studied every alternative. Through every measure at our disposal, we came to the conclusion that we could not guarantee the welfare of the animals, Bakke-Jensen stated in the statement.
Freya was killed early on Sunday, according to Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries, “based on an overall assessment of the persistent threat to human safety.”
It stated that “it was made evident through on-site observations the past week that the public has violated the present advice to keep a clear distance to the walrus.” Therefore, the Directorate came to the conclusion that there was a substantial potential for human injury and that animal welfare was not being upheld.
Other solutions, such as transferring the animal somewhere else, were taken into consideration, according to the directorate’s head, Frank Bakke-Jensen. Authorities, however, came to the conclusion that it wasn’t a practical choice.
We understand that the decision would elicit a response from the public, but Bakke-Jensen insisted that it was the appropriate choice. Although we care deeply about animal welfare, human life and safety must come first.
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The Arctic is where Atlantic walruses typically reside. They occasionally venture into the Baltic and North Seas, however, it is exceptional. In Wales and other places, a second walrus known as Wally was spotted last year on beaches and even at a lifeboat dock.
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