Freya the walrus delighted Norway. Her death has left the country divided.
“This is Norway in a nutshell. Too often we kill the animals we don’t like or can’t cope with,” said a biologist who had been tracking Freya’s journey around northern Europe.
The decision to euthanize Freya, Norway’s beloved celebrity walrus, brought an abrupt end to her summer of stardom.
Now her death has provoked public outrage and renewed long-standing concerns about how the Scandinavian country treats its wildlife and natural resources.
The 1,300-pound marine mammal — who shares her name with the Norse goddess of fertility and love — had enthralled the public for months as she traveled the nation’s coastline, crushing small boats with her hefty frame. But Freya was suddenly put down Sunday over concerns for her welfare and the risk to the crowds that flocked to see her in Oslo's fjord region, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries said in a statement on its website.
The government body said it feared the animal could injure or kill one of the many people who had been gathering just feet away to take photos, throw objects and even swim in the water near Freya as she bathed in the sun or slept.
“I am firm that this was the right call. We have great regard for animal welfare, but human life and safety must take precedence,” Frank Bakke-Jensen, the director general of fisheries, said Sunday.
After initially calling euthanasia "out of the question," the directorate had warned last week that the drastic step was being considered unless the public stayed away from Freya.
Norwegian headlines on Monday nonetheless expressed shock in the wake of the decision. "Rage after Freya’s death," read the front page of the popular Dagbladet newspaper, with the broadcaster TV2 decrying that she was "killed by her audience."
"This is Norway in a nutshell," said Rune Aae, a biologist who had been tracking Freya’s journey around northern Europe.
"Too often we kill the animals we don’t like or can’t cope with. It's an outrage in Norway how we are treating these kind of animals," said Aae, who is also a doctoral student in science didactics at the University of South-Eastern Norway.
Freya had not shown signs of stress, he said, but instead seemed curious about people. He criticized authorities for not blocking off the areas where the walrus spent the most time, or trying to move her, despite fears that she could drown if an attempt to tranquilize her failed.
Even a fatal attempt to move her would have been better than euthanasia, he said.
The Directorate of Fisheries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.