Human Handling of Polar Bear Stirs Flap

[CableChick]

Isn't he just ADORABLE!!!


Human Handling of Polar Bear Stirs Flap

By JOSH WARD, Associated Press Writer

<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>document.write(getElapsed("20070321T113602Z"));</SCRIPT>5 hours ago<NOSCRIPT>UPDATED 4 HOURS 7 MINUTES AGO</NOSCRIPT>

BERLIN - Berlin Zoo's abandoned polar bear cub Knut looks cute, cuddly and has become a front-page media darling, but an animal rights activist insisted Monday he would have been better off dead than raised by humans.

"Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws," animal rights activist Frank Albrecht was quoted as saying by the mass-circulation Bild daily, which has featured regular photo spreads tracking fuzzy Knut's frolicking.

"The zoo must kill the bear."
On the Net:

Berlin Zoo: http://www.zoo-berlin.de

 

[desertrat]

Oh yeah, all other aspects of zoo life are so natural, but this is unacceptable.

 

[Geek]

Now I want a polar bear

 

[Dupontster]

"Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws," animal rights activist Frank Albrecht was quoted as saying by the mass-circulation Bild daily, which has featured regular photo spreads tracking fuzzy Knut's frolicking.


Now why did that phrase strike me as funny?

Polar Bears are beautiful animals but they are bad a$$'s too....I saw one on Discovery channel a couple of weeks ago tear a Bull Walrus to pieces...

 

[Nickel]

"The killing of an animal has nothing to do with animal protection,"

Oh, I see.

 

[desertrat]

"Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws," animal rights activist Frank Albrecht was quoted as saying by the mass-circulation Bild daily, which has featured regular photo spreads tracking fuzzy Knut's frolicking.


Now why did that phrase strike me as funny?

Polar Bears are beautiful animals but they are bad a$$'s too....I saw one on Discovery channel a couple of weeks ago tear a Bull Walrus to pieces...

At first I thought that was the bears name and I thought, "those Germans, always kidding around".

 

[Roughidle]

I hope they don't kill it until it's a good rug size...gigity...gigity...gigity.

 

[Lenny]

Now I want a polar bear

If I had this baddazz in a couple years, the neighbors' pitbulls would no longer be a neighborhood noize nuisance. Course, they'd all complain 'bout me having such a white pet.

 

[hvp05]

Oh yeah, all other aspects of zoo life are so natural, but this is unacceptable.

Some environmentalists oppose zoos entirely. Never mind that without them many species would be in a much worse position than they are - even extinct.

I don't see why the zoo should kill the cub, since they have already started raising him. It is not uncommon for humans to play surrogate once the parents are killed - for all sorts of animals.

 

[Penn]

Saw this on the news tonight as well. I thought it was a dumb attitude, on the part of the activist.Make sure the animal is healthy, then turn it loose in a zoo, or in the wild. Do they think this poor creature will not find a way to survive? I think nature can and will take care of it's own.

 

[Tinkerbell]

Now I want a polar bear

I'll check ebay...

 

[desertrat]

Now I want a polar bear

I'm sure one would want you too.

 

[SamSpade]

Now I want a polar bear

Probably the most singularly ferocious and aggressive creature on the planet. This thing pretty much kills anything it can see, and due to the hostile nature of its environment - that's a normal day. It has to kill and eat whatever it sees, because there ain't nothing else showing its head today.

Other predators are satiated easily, because food is plentiful; this one is always killing because food is always scarce.

 

[Tinkerbell]

Probably the most singularly ferocious and aggressive creature on the planet. This thing pretty much kills anything it can see, and due to the hostile nature of its environment - that's a normal day. It has to kill and eat whatever it sees, because there ain't nothing else showing its head today.

Other predators are satiated easily, because food is plentiful; this one is always killing because food is always scarce.

But did you see him? He's SO cute! He wrestles with toilet brushes and sleeps with a teddy bear!

 

[SamSpade]

But did you see him? He's SO cute! He wrestles with toilet brushes and sleeps with a teddy bear!

Yes. He is adorable. But I also know what they can do. People see cute tiger cubs and forget that when they put them on a leash - and they rip off an arm. Cute doesn't mean they aren't deadly.

 

[migtig]

Yes. He is adorable. But I also know what they can do. People see cute tiger cubs and forget that when they put them on a leash - and they rip off an arm. Cute doesn't mean they aren't deadly.

Thanks for the siggy.

 

[Redskinsmama]

i think it's crazy that an animal activist wants the cub killed....irony at it's finest

 

[SamSpade]

i think it's crazy that an animal activist wants the cub killed....irony at it's finest

It's because they view a zoo as cruel incarceration. For example, you might prefer a death sentence to being placed in a tiny box for life. It's just the way they choose to look at it.

Another way to look at it is, what if this was a feral human, and was being raised in an institution because there was no hope of mainstreaming it? Would it be "humane" to kill them? Of course not.

If the polar bear could make the choice, I'm sure it would choose to live.