Walrus euthanized by Norway draws over $20,000 to build statue

A fundraiser to build a statue in memory of a walrus euthanized by Norwegian authorities has drawn more than $20,000.

Freya, a 1,320 pound walrus named after the Norse goddess of love and fertility, had become something of a local celebrity in the Oslo fjord region since July. She has been spotted sleeping and sunning herself on boats, sometimes damaging them and piers up and down the coastline.

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries put Freya down early Sunday morning, citing public safety concerns after people repeatedly ignored warnings to keep their distance from the wild animal. They deemed it too dangerous to move her.

We concluded that people's lives and health could be in danger, reads an English translation of the official statement on the department's website, as translated by Google. Despite repeated calls, the public did not follow recommendations to keep distance from the walrus, and dangerous situations arose on several occasions. The directorate's head, Frank Bakke-Jensen, said other options - including moving the animal elsewhere - were considered. The authorities concluded that it wasn't a viable option.

We sympathies for the fact that the decision can cause a reaction from the public, but I am firm that this is the right call, Bakke-Jensen said. We have great respect for animal welfare, but human life and safety must take precedence. Norwegian newspapers decried the decision to put the animal down, as reported by NBC, with headlines like Rage after Freya's death. Rune Aae, a biologist who had been following Freya's journey, told NBC that this is Norway in a nutshell. Too often we kill animals we don't like or can't cope with. In Norway, it is an outrage about how we treat these kind of animals. Many people have slammed the indefensible killing of the gentle giant on Twitter TWTR, Freya, and her fundraiser on Wednesday afternoon, as well as Google searches on Wednesday afternoon.

It is not surprising that an online fundraiser to build a statue of Freya in her memory had already raised more than $20,000 on the fundraising platform Spleis.

The organizers of the fundraisers wrote that Freya's death has a strong negative signal effect that Norway, and especially Oslo, are not able to provide living space for wild animals. By erecting a statue of the symbol Freya, we will remind ourselves and future generations that we can not always kill and remove nature when it is in the way. It is unusual for them to travel into the North and Baltic Seas, especially as climate change has also pushed more animals into new territory. Another walrus, nicknamed Wally, was seen last year on beaches and even on a lifeboat dock in Wales.