Freya the Walrus put down in Norway
Ryan Taylor
She was the creature who grabbed attention wherever she went. But now, Freya the walrus has been put down in Norway.
Authorities have carried out a controlled operation to euthanise Freya following concerns for human and animal welfare.
Freya, who was said to weigh some 600kg, had become a familiar sight for Norwegians in recent weeks, commonly being spotted around Oslo’s harbours and piers.
Fans of Freya had been warned not to get too close to her. It was hoped that she would leave of her own accord.
However, she was reported to have been seen climbing onto small boats, causing them to sink where they were tied up.
Freya had made a name for herself in the isles.
Last year Freya arrived in the West Mainland, where she was discovered hauled out on a salmon cage off Vementry.
She was thought to be a juvenile female which was last seen in November on a brief visit to Northumberland.
Before that she had been spotted relaxing on top of a Dutch submarine in a naval base in North Holland.
But today [Sunday] she was killed by the directorate of fisheries in Norway.
Shetland Wildlife posted that the act was “abhorrent and unforgivable on every level”.
The Norwegian director general Frank Bakke-Jensen said: “We have considered all possible solutions carefully.
“We concluded that we could not ensure the animals welfare through any means available.”
Ceri McGregor-Davies
I saw this story on the BBC and was extremely worried that the Nowegians would take this action. Utterly horrifying to me that a, by all accounts gentle and friendly, creature such as Freya could be deemed a risk by some small portion of humanity… Creatures of our world be warned – Humans can’t be trusted….
Rachel Evans
How awfull.
We lived alongside a juvenile male last year in British waters.
The authorities provided resting spots for him to chill out on instead of sinking boats.