The walrus Freya gained a lot of attention by climbing on boats. Photo: NTB / Trond Reidar Teigen

The walrus Freya has become world famous over the past few weeks. Not only was it an absolute globetrotter, as it included Great Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and finally explored Norway. Even within the towns, it has swum against the tide.

So the animal got more and more attention in Oslo, because it climbed onto boats at the fjord and sunned itself on them. As a result, Freya has attracted more and more tourists and even got her own live stream from the newspaper 'Verdens Gang'. However, the great attention was now fatal to her.

Freya is dead – the network reacts

Because tourists often came very close to the animal, sometimes even going into the water with it, the Fisheries Directorate in Oslo viewed it as a threat. The walrus was euthanized on Sunday morning - sparking widespread outrage around the world.

'We weighed all possible options.' Fisheries Directorate Oslo

The Directorate of Fisheries announced the news on its website. There it is stated factually: 'The operation was carried out in a humane manner by employees of the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries.' The animal not only have people endangered, but was also stressed herself and was therefore not in a good condition.

The Fisheries Directorate has warned people several times to keep a safe distance. However, because that did not happen, no other solution was seen: 'We weighed all possible options. We came to the conclusion that we cannot guarantee the welfare of the animal with any of the available means.'

Heavy criticism from all sides

The fact that Freya was put down - and the reasoning behind it in particular - has sparked a global shitstorm. You could also see this in the social networks in this country. The opinions are probably the same: The users - including well-known faces - strongly condemned the killing.

'We don't deserve the beauty of this planet.' Journalist Ann-Kathrin Büüsker

The well-known nurse Ricardo Lange wrote in an info post from the 'FAZ': 'People just kill everything that isn't on the trees in three. Terribly unnecessary!' Several hundred users joined him opinion The outrage could hardly have been clearer: 'Hardly surpassable in terms of absurdity,' wrote one person. Another: 'Why weren't the onlookers simply warned with fines?'

at Twitter the shitstorm continues. Ann-Kathrin Büüsker, journalist for 'Deutschlandfunk', for example, wrote there: 'We have the beauty this planet and its beings don't deserve to be treated this way.' But the criticism was not only seen here, but has drawn global circles.

We don't deserve the beauty of this planet and its beings by treating them like this. https://t.co/ggFkF9gEZ8

— Frau Büüsker (@uedio) August 14, 2022

People all over the world are outraged

Many international media have picked up the news about the walrus. To name a few, they included the BBC and The Guardian, CNN and the New York Times. There, too, the mood of the readership was identical to that prevailing here.

The American actor George Takai, for example, expresses this on Twitter: 'That Norwegian authorities had to kill a beloved walrus because human onlookers just wouldn't listen is like a parable for our tragic, dangerous time.'

That Norwegian authorities had to kill a beloved Walrus because human onlookers simply wouldn’t listen and keep a safe distance from her is like a parable for our tragic, perilous times.

—George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) August 14, 2022

Sharp criticism and discussions have long been commonplace on social media. Rarely, however, are users as unanimous as is the case with Freya.