I am late in defending Freya, the 600-kg. walrus, who lost her way into the Oslo fjord because she came to love the company of people. She was “euthanized” by Norway´s Directorate of Fisheries on Sunday, the 14th of August 2022.
Freya died because the authorities chose the easy way to manage the threat to public safety that the fondness of the walrus for crowds and people had created. Again, the story of the little mermaid is repeated here. The magical creature who chose to be with the human she loved had to pay that choice with her life, because the human she loved did not care enough for her. I could not still believe that this story would again be repeated, this time, in the peace-loving, human and animal-rights “haven,” my present country, Norway.
In the news reports on local Norwegian TV on Sunday, many people have been asked to voice their opinions about the death of Freya, the walrus. The animal rights activist groups did not convince me with the solutions they apparently had suggested, which the Norwegian government did not listen to. There was one voice though, that of a young Swedish boy, whose idea matched with what I had — which I originally thought I did not need to write about, since I knew there are many animal activists here. The boy said he understood that Freya can perhaps pose danger to people, but he thought it would have been better if the authorities had chosen another way to solve the problem: instead of killing Freya, they could just have taken her to where she belonged, out in the open seawaters.
So Freya, I am sorry, I am late to tell the authorities here there was another way they could have saved both people and you. May your animal soul find its way into the heavens so the angels could turn your lost mass and energy into streams of wisdom. The next time the same event takes place, may this stored wisdom flow down fast to open the eyes of the authorities out there, of the other possibilities, of other potent solutions that would not entail the loss of either human — or animal life, especially one like you who thought humans are your friends.
Rest in peace, our beloved walrus giant. You are not forgotten.
