A 1,300-pound walrus named Freya – nicknamed after the Norse goddess of beauty and love – has been killed by Norwegian authorities after it was declared a threat to human security.
Freya had delighted tourists and locals alike in the summer. From lounging on boats to sunbathing on Oslo’s piers, she’d made quite an impression – some media outlets dubbed 2022 their “hot girls’ summer” and Norwegian publication Verdens Gang even set up a 24-hour live camera to capture the Summer to film the comings and goings of new celebrities.
However, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries said the decision to euthanize the creature on Sunday August 14 came after numerous warnings from the public to keep their distance from Freya were ignored.
in one expressionHis board chief Frank Bakke-Jensen said: “I firmly believe that this was the right call. Animal welfare is very important to us, but human lives and safety must come first.”
News of Frey’s euthanasia sparked an immediate backlash on multiple social media platforms, with many believing the people were to blame, not the walrus. A Twitter usager wrote, “Shame on you #Norway. Basically, the walrus was in its proper environment… the pesky people were the ones you had to chase. That was unforgivable.”
Bakke-Jensen contradicted this outcry, saying that the option of relocating Freya had been carefully considered with the help of the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research. According to the official, the complexity of the operation meant that “this was not a viable option.”
In recent video footage, three people on a jet ski were seen pulling up just meters from a boat on which Freya was napping while several spectators watched from a jetty. Officials have also previously posted images of dozens of people crowding Freya on a pier just meters from her.
“Observations on the ground over the past week have made it clear that the public has disregarded the current recommendation to keep a clear distance from the walrus,” Bakke-Jensen said in the statement. “The possibility of potential harm to humans was high and animal welfare was not upheld,” he added.
Rune Aae, a researcher at the University of Southeastern Norway, who used a Facebook group called “Freya the walrus – where is she now?” to track the animal’s movements, has criticized Norway’s decision to euthanize it as “premature” and “completely unnecessary”.
In other news, a walrus nicknamed Wally had been sighted off the coast of Britain last year and was thought to have made all the way to northern Spain before heading back to the Arctic.