Several options for moving the walrus Freya were considered before the Directorate of Fisheries decided to euthanize the animal.
The Norwegian Marine Research Institute’s (HI) veterinarians were asked for advice when the Directorate of Fisheries considered moving the walrus and not euthanizing it. Several options for capturing and stunning the 600-kilogram marine mammal were considered, but the HI recommended none of them.
Among the suggestions were to stun Freya or to trap her with a net and then stun the animal. The most relevant proposal was to lure her into a cage and then anesthetize her there. In the first two proposals, it was feared that the walrus would drown after the anesthetic had been applied and before they could catch it.
“Relocation was considered, but we concluded that the operation would be very risky for the animal with too uncertain an outcome,” senior communications advisor Nadia Jdaini in the Directorate of Fisheries told the newspaper VG.
“In such a decision, consideration of people’s lives and health always weigh heavily. Consideration of the animal’s life and health are also relevant,” Jdaini wrote about the euthanasia decision.
The euthanization of the walrus on Sunday has become news in large parts of the world. Fisheries director Frank Bakke-Jensen and his wife, Hilde Sjurelv, have received death threats after the walrus was put down.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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Freya the Walrus was left alone in Britain and in the Netherlands, a few boats were damaged,but nobody was hurt. Reading about Freya’s travels were welcome news and a distraction from all the world’s sadness and problems, and then some misguided Norwegians thought it was a good idea to put this gorgeous animal down. Why? She’d never hurt anyone! Why would she suddenly go for Norwegians?
It sounds as though they treated her as an inconvenience and didn’t want to wait for her to move on ! It might have cost money to protect her from bloody humans but no,the magnificent
creature has been slaughtered 😠