Not only was this beautiful animal shot on the Spitsbergen island of Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, but this polar bear was fatally shot, anger is growing daily…
People are absolutely outraged, and quite rightly so, a German crew member on the cruise ship called the “Bremen” was said to have been attacked by the bear, his fellow crewmate was the one to shoot the bear, it was fatal for the poor polar bear!
The cruise ship, called the Hapag-Lloyd, was docked on the Saturday at Spitsbergen island, this is said to be when the bear attacked the guard, it was his job to investigate that there were no bears before passengers departed.
The guy that was attacked, the guard, had to be airlifted out, however, he had injuries that were described as non-life-threatening, to his head…
The cruise ship “Bremen” is a luxury cruise ship and quite pricey too. The Cruises promoted by Hapag-Lloyd are with a promise that “nature determines the course of eventful days”, in fact, polar bear sightings are all considered part of the experience.
The tourists were all well out of the way through when the polar bear was shot dead, it was said that a crew member of the “Bremen” had gone ashore, with other guards, all together.
The company said:
“The incident occurred when the four-person polar bear guard team, who are always on board for these expedition cruises as required by law, prepared for a shore leave”
However the shooting was performed, the majority of people are very angry and against the shooting, popular figures on Twitter talk about the preventability of shooting and the events of that day.
British comedian Ricky Gervais said:
“‘Let’s get too close to a polar bear in its natural environment and then kill it if it gets too close,’ Morons”
“Let’s get too close to a polar bear in its natural environment and then kill it if it gets too close”. Morons. https://t.co/FEPt0sYOtF
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 29, 2018
Jane Roberts, a genealogist said:
“Maybe cruise sightseeing tours shouldn’t take place then polar bear guards wouldn’t be needed to protect gawking tourists & polar bears would be left in peace & not shot dead merely to satisfy a photo op?”
Maybe cruise sightseeing tours shouldn’t take place then polar bear guards wouldn’t be needed to protect gawking tourists & polar bears would be left in peace & not shot dead merely to satisfy a photo op? https://t.co/OqOlAiYynN
— Jane Roberts (@JaneElRoberts) July 29, 2018
Biologist Adam said:
“Tourism… again proving itself to be harmful to wildlife.”
Tourism…again proving itself to be harmful to wildlife https://t.co/1ebeLpx7x7
— Prof Adam Hart (@AdamHartScience) July 29, 2018
Biologist, Daniel Schneider, said:
“This #polarbear home was invaded from tourists from the Cruise Ship MS Bremen. He defended himself, in his home, mildly injuring a “polar bear guard”. He was then shot dead. Here’s a thought. Why not look at the bears from afar and leave them alone. RT to Leave the Bears alone.”
This #polarbear home was invaded from tourists from the Cruise Ship MS Bremen. He defended himself, in his home, mildly injuring a “polar bear guard”. He was then shot dead. Here’s a thought. Why not look at the bears from afar and leave them alone. RT to Leave the Bears alone pic.twitter.com/8NkBT2JSt5
— Daniel Schneider (@BiologistDan) July 29, 2018
Polar bear guards, so they are called, are there to ensure the safety of the travelers on guided tours, while on shore according to the news. Crew members are of course armed and get special training for events like these.
During the incident itself, there were no actual tourists to protect, but the guards were setting up a landing gear protection station just before they were attacked.
The Ole Jakob Malmo of the Svalbard police said that they are opening an investigation into the shooting in due course.
The Cruise ship’s organizer Hapag-Lloyd Cruises said on Twitter:
Informationen zum aktuellen Vorfall auf Spitzbergen: Bei einer Reise mit MS BREMEN ist es bei einem Landgang zu einem Unfall gekommen. Wir bedauern diesen Vorfall außerordentlich. Weitere Hintergründe dazu auf der Facebook-Seite von Hapag-Lloyd Cruises: https://t.co/EXXn5t4hBo
— Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (@HLCruises) July 29, 2018
Maybe it would be a good and sound idea for tourist companies to stop using animals to fuel their tourist trade and be content with viewing these amazing creatures from a safe distance, safe for the polar bears!
If you agree we should have stricter guides for how we are allowed to interact with magnificent creatures like this then please SHARE and show your support.