Police have shot and killed a polar bear that came ashore in northwestern Iceland, the first sighting of a polar bear there since 2016. It might have hitched a ride from Greenland on a floating iceberg.

  • Maggoty@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    5
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    3 months ago

    Read the article. They don’t even go onto that. They have a shoot on sight policy regardless.

    • brenticus@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      3 months ago

      If you can see a polar bear it’s a threat.

      They really aren’t like other bear species. They are an apex predator in an area where basically nothing other than another polar bear can even harm them. They see most things as food, including humans.

      As a bonus, Iceland has a pretty wonky ecosystem that needs protecting as is and polar bears aren’t native to the island. They have to swim extreme distances to get there, making relocation extremely difficult and expensive, plus if they leave it be it will entirely disrupt other wildlife in the area, to say nothing of the human population.

      As others have said, it sucks that it got shot, but Iceland especially has very limited options on how else to deal with it. Shoot on sight is, unfortunately, a very reasonable policy for them.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        3 months ago

        A whole ass country can’t afford to trap and relocate 1 Bear per decade?

        That’s ridiculous.

    • SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      3 months ago

      Yes. Because they’re not going to wait until someone got turned into kibble for something to do

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        6
        ·
        3 months ago

        Which isn’t the reason the Iceland government gives. Again. Go read the article. But also that’s the same excuse we almost made wolves extinct with. Animals as a rule avoid people when possible.