The walrus Freya has been euthanized – VG

Early on Sunday morning, the Directorate of Fisheries carried out a controlled operation in which the walrus Freya was killed.

– The decision to euthanize was made after an overall assessment where we concluded that people’s lives and health could be in danger, says director of fisheries Frank Bakke-Jensen on the Directorate of Fisheries’ own website.

The action was carried out by personnel from the Directorate of Fisheries in an animal welfare-responsible manner, they write.

– Well-trained personnel carried out the operation according to current routines for killing marine mammals. The action proceeded without drama, says Bakke-Jensen.

The police and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority were notified ahead of the action.

The walrus has been handed over for further handling by veterinarians.

In the last week, the Directorate of Fisheries has concluded through its own observations that the risk of dangerous situations for people and animals was very high.

The Directorate of Fisheries has several times advised the public to keep their distance from the walrus.

“Despite repeated calls, the public did not follow recommendations to keep their distance from the walrus, and dangerous situations arose on several occasions,” the directorate writes on its website.

On Thursday 4 August, the police had to move out to block off the bathing area after the walrus had chased a lady into the water.

Several measures have been considered in connection with the presence of the walrus in the Oslofjord.

– We have considered all possible measures very thoroughly. We came to the conclusion that we did not have the opportunity to safeguard animal welfare in a good enough way with other measures, says Bakke-Jensen.

– A possible relocation operation would have been very complicated and associated with high risk, so this option was opted out, says Bakke-Jensen.