Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Crazy German animal rights activists

By Michael J.W. Stickings

This is Knut.

He's a three-month old polar bear cub at a zoo in Berlin. His mother rejected him and he's been raised by hand by a zookeeper. (See Der Spiegel for more, including a photo gallery.)

He is extraordinarily popular. And yet some want him dead. Who?

Various animal rights activists who think that "[r]aising him by hand is not appropriate to the species but rather a blatant violation of animal welfare laws," to quote one of them. The director of another German zoo, in Aachen, even argued that it isn't "appropriate for the species that the little polar bear is being raised on a bottle".

Huh? What?

I know, that was my reaction, too. Apparently this is rather common practice: killing baby zoo animals who for whatever reason cannot fend for themselves.

But come on. How insane is that?

Surely the humane treatment of one member of a species doesn't enganger the entire species. And surely there is some other solution to the "problem" than animal infanticide. Surely it should be in the realm of "animal welfare laws" for humans to take care of animals who have been rejected by their mothers or who otherwise find themselves alone. Surely an animal like Knut is precisely what the animal rights movement needs to attract widepread public attention to the welfare of animals.

And given all the animal abuse out there in the world, all the real abuse that should concern animal rights activists, why focus on poor Knut?

Let him live. Celebrate him. And do your part in safeguarding the welfare of animals.

Labels: , ,

Bookmark and Share

4 Comments:

  • I read this whith very great interest. I am a German and living in Germany and I can tell you: it is only a small group of self-appointed animal-protectors (only they even call themselves so) who wants little Knut made dead. The overpowering majority of the Germans wants by no means this, of course. Also of the German animal-protection-association, Germany's biggest animal-protection-organization, I saw a statement, which turns itself strictly against this unbelievable killing of a small young bear-baby. You can be sure: there won't be the unbelievable action.
    Greetings, Frilo (Eckbert Heinenberg)

    By Blogger Frilo, at 6:57 AM  

  • When I saw the story in a local news channel here in Argentina, I couldn't believe my eyes or my ears for that matter. I think it would be terribly wrong to kill this beautiful cub, not only because it hasn't done any harm but also because he has a right to live, just like we humans do. I don't know nor care who these people who want him dead are, but I will say something... would we have this discussion if it was a human baby who was abandoned by his mother? I don't think so... why is this so different? I think this so called "activists" should know better than that... I'm outraged and cannot conceive this kind of "policy". Great blog by the way.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:24 AM  

  • That's good news, Frilo, thank you. I figured it was just a fringe of the animal rights movement. As a former resident of Germany myself, it's good to hear that most Germans are on Knut's side.

    I agree with you, Guillita. I think it's crazy. But it looks like Knut will live and, as Frilo mentioned, that there is just a tiny fringe of extremists that is calling for his death. What bothers me is not just that these activists would want Knut dead but that they're even focusing their attention on this. There is so much animal abuse in the world. Shouldn't their concern be directed elsewhere?

    And thank you kindly, Guillita, for the nice compliment. I hope you keep coming back.

    By Blogger Michael J.W. Stickings, at 1:16 AM  

  • Poor little bear... idiots want to kill this little bear just becouse they bored or I don't know... They think that they're big "activists"... I hate stupid people like that... What kind of school do they learnt about such an idiot thing like this? Don't they know that every animal depend on people's care in a zoo? If they didn't know they has some problem with their brain.
    Or do you idiot activists belive that this is the biggest problem in the world?
    Yeah, if they thing they have some problem with their mentality again.
    Just imagine if you're a little guy or girl and your parents don't want to care about you... you should be killed in an orphanage or what?
    "All the environment needs our help for a better life." We all hear this almost every day from environmentalists or "big animal lovers". Well,it looks like all they can do just talking about this and kill the animals if they don't think that it deserve it's life.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:21 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home