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LAST UPDATE | 15 Aug 2022
A WALRUS NICKNAMED Freya that attracted crowds while basking in the Oslo fjord was euthanised yesterday, with Norway officials saying it was the only option but experts slamming an “infinitely sad” decision.
“The decision to euthanise was taken on the basis of a global evaluation of the persistent threat to human security,” the head of Norway’s Fisheries Directorate Frank Bakke-Jensen said in a statement.
“We carefully examined all the possible solutions. We concluded that we could not guarantee the well-being of the animal by any of the means available,” he said.
Officials had previously said they were considering euthanasia because repeated appeals to the public to keep their distance from the young female weighing 600 kg had been in vain and that she was experiencing excessive stress.
Freya, whose name is a reference to the Norse goddess of beauty and love, had made headlines since July 17 when she was first spotted in the waters of the Norwegian capital.
Walruses normally live in the even more northerly latitudes of the Arctic.
Between long naps in the sun — a walrus can sleep up to 20 hours a day — Freya had been filmed chasing a duck, attacking a swan and, more often than not, dozing on boats struggling to support her bulk.
Despite repeated appeals, curious onlookers continued to approach the mammal, sometimes with children in tow, to take photographs.
‘Incredibly sad’
Experts said the decision to euthanise Freya did not taking into account the animal’s well-being.
Siri Martinsen, a spokeswoman for animal rights group NOAH, told TV2 television that it was a rushed measure and that fines should have been issued to disperse the onlookers.
“It’s very shocking,” she added, saying it was an opportunity to show people how to respect wild animals.
“It’s infinitely sad that they chose to euthanise such a beautiful animal simply because we did not behave well with it,” biologist Rune Aae told the NTB news agency.
The Green Party earlier this week said experts recommended giving Freya sedatives and taking her away from populated areas, or taking her back to the remote Svalbard archipelago.
But Bakke-Jensen said that “was not a viable option” because such an operation would be too complex.
Freya, estimated to be around five years old, had already been sighted in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden and chose to spend part of the summer in Norway.
Freya first gained notoriety in Norway by climbing onto pleasure boats in Kragero, an idyllic southern coastal village.
The walrus is a protected species that feeds mainly on invertebrates such as molluscs, shrimps, crabs and small fish.
Walruses do not normally behave aggressively towards humans, but they can feel threatened by intruders and attack.
An operation this week to save a beluga stranded in France’s Seine river also ended with the animal being put down.
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‘Did you do the Liffet swim, son?’
‘Yes Ma, I came turd’
Lets hear the government spin on this latest fiasco.
One floating turd floating in the liffey is one roo many
@Johnny Conway: I don’t think any of our TD’s plan on participating.
@Darren Byrne: just as well. There’s enough turds in there already.
@Darren Byrne: magnificent
Could we just stick with DCC fixing this problem please, as we’re all aware of the dire disaster of a billing company called Irish Water & they really don’t need to interfere in any way!
@Colette Kearns:
And if the problem also lies with the other 2 councils that also share the liffey?
Maybe one unified authority is a good idea!
Slovenia ( also a member of these United States of Europe) have written in their constitution the following..
Every citizen has a right to clean water
All water and infrastructure shall be a public good managed by the stste
As a priority and in a sustainable manner, water resources shall be used to supply the population with drinking water and water for household use and in this respect will never be a market commodity.
The supply of the population with drinking water and water for household use shall be ensured by the state directly through self governing local communities and on a not for profit bases.
Slovenia per capita uses approx 73 litres of water per day more than irish people
@Thomas Maher: I think this is a great idea. But Slovenia also have water charges.
Wouldn’t even dip my toes in it….
I drove past the 3 Arena at low tide this morning and there was a serious stink from the river that I have never noticed before…
@John Carolan: really bad smell of hot shite around O’Connell and Parnell. Something bad in those drains
@K: yes, it was hot Shite…50% more potent than BOG standard shite…
@K: Noticed that as well! Reminded me of Mumbai when I was there. Rotten
Just keep your head lifted above the pollution, like what was suggested in the recent air quality report…
Has much changed since Paul Brady sang
‘ Summer in Dublin’
@Padraic O Sullivan: Except he never sang Summer in Dublin. Bagatelle did
It would be cleaner to jump into a jacks
Strange to think once this was used to make whiskey.
@Life is short enjoy it: and Guinness
@5hbeZh0I: Yes how could I forget.
@5hbeZh0I: I don’t think so. There’s a story about DCC trying to use the mountain spring belonging to Guinness’s and Arthur Guinness and relays of staff defending it by holding them off with shotguns until they gave up trying to take it by force.
Full of sewage, shame on iw.
@@mdmak33:
I thought it was dcc doing all the work? :)
We shouldn’t be flippant about such a serious issue.
Not so long ago we ridiculed European countries about the quality of their tap water.
We should hold our government accountable, there should be consequences.
Why the event is not cancelled it beyond me
@Michael Curran:
Maybe southern European…
I remember how, on my first visit to Ireland, I was told I couldn’t drink from any of the taps in the house except the one on the kitchen. Took my a long time to figure out the backwards outdated plumbing in most Irish homes.
Don’t have that in the rest of Europe…
@Michael Curran:
Cancelling the event would attract more publicity, the thinking is – just get it over with and God is good for next year.
Pollution levels in rivers, beaches, and harbours that would not be tolerated in any other European country – mired in our own filth. The end result will be ” Your gonna need a bigger Childrens Hospital
Let’s build a treatment many on the site of the Dail. There is enough p1ssing against the wind there and they talk enough crap
I remember that summer in Dublin and the liffey it stank like hell., nothing changed with the liffey since this song recorded in 1980. Prevention better than the cure. All have been warned regarding quality so ground yourselves for another time.
Just proves Dublin full of sh*t
@Kevin50: coming from Cork lol
@Kevin50: River Lee is worse, guaranteed and tested
You’d get twenty different diseases if you swam in it!
Surprised Irish Water didn’t call the swimmers ‘customers’ if they were called to comment.
@Paul Cunningham: spot on.
Its not bottle water they are in
Good luck to any swimmers, bring a change of clothes. Anyone I know who did the Raft Race would throw theirs out afterwards.
Shut up Darrell you Jealous fool and get your facts straight. Don’t know where your getting your information from Rachel lee is going off at 18 minutes.This lady does not need to compete in events that are “fixed” which the Liffey definitely not. Rachel lee will go into the water 18 minutes after the first swimmer starts as this is a handicap race. She is that good. To imply that a nation institution like the Liffey is fixed is so wrong. Ordinary swimmers race against Olympians and international and have the chance to win in this amazing event. It’s been going on for 100 years and your the first Iv heard to call it fixed. What is it my mother said “ it’s better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool then to open it and remove all doubt “. Good luck to all today. See you there
@Eddie Duffy: I was “fraped” in pub last night, we were talking about the Liffey swim, I don’t even know the girl. Trying to get the comment deleted.
@Darrell Pickford Monks: well just say nothing so. .. for your information. She didn’t win. Was never going too off 18 mins. But she still swam as hard as she could
@Darrell Pickford Monks: Don’t even no what fraped is. If you don’t know what your talking about jwell just say nothing .. for your information. She didn’t win. Was never going too off 18 mins. But she still swam as hard as she could .. true athlete.
Andy dufresne, the man who crawled through 500 yards of shit and came out clean the other end.????
G8 if your a shit swimmer.
Oh shite
The amount of know it all eejits on here. You would all wipe your arses with sandpaper if the news told you to. Not one illness reported in twenty years by people swimming the Liffey and the Lee
Some of these waters are still on sale, the hubby bought some around 8:00 pm!!
I think it’s time for a Liffey tax said FG.
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