When Knut was born last December his mother ignored him, zoo officials intervened and chose to raise him themselves
Posted on 03/19/2007 12:08:29 PM PDT by Stoat
The Berlin Zoo's abandoned polar bear cub Knut looks cute, cuddly and has become a front-page media darling, but animal rights activists insisted he would be better off dead than raised by humans.
When Knut was born last December his mother ignored him, zoo officials intervened and chose to raise him themselves
"Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws," animal rights activist Frank Albrecht told the mass-circulation Bild, which has featured regular full-color photo spreads tracking fuzzy Knut's frolicking. "The zoo must kill the bear."
When Knut - or "Cute Knut," as the 8.7 kilogram (19 pound) bear has become known - was born last December, his mother ignored him and his brother, who later died. Zoo officials intervened, choosing to raise the cub themselves.
Activists argue that it is inappropriate for a predator, known for its fierceness and ability to fend for itself in the wild, to be snuggled
But Albrecht and other activists fret that it is inappropriate for a predator, known for its fierceness and ability to fend for itself in the wild, to be snuggled, bottle-fed and made a poster child by zookeepers - and even star-photographer Annie Leibovitz.
The activists argue that current treatment of the cub is inhumane and could lead to future difficulties interacting with fellow polar bears.
"They cannot domesticate a wild animal," Ruediger Schmiedel, head of the Foundation for Bears, told Der Spiegel weekly in its Monday edition.
They cite a similar case of a baby sloth bear that was abandoned by its mother last December in the Leipzig city zoo and killed by lethal injection, rather than being kept alive by humans.
But he is the Berlin Zoo's bear and their veterinarian Andre Schuele, charged with caring for Knut, disagrees.
"These criticisms make me angry, but you can't take them so seriously," Andre Schuele said.
"Polar bears live alone in the wild; I see no logical reason why this bear should be killed."
Schuele also argued that given the increased rarity of polar bears in the wild, it makes sense to keep them alive in captivity so that they can be bred.
"Polar bears are under threat of extinction, and if we feed the bear with a bottle, it has a good chance of growing up and perhaps becoming attractive as a stud for other zoos," Schuele said.
Knut, who recently posed for a photo shoot with Leibovitz for an environmental protection campaign, is scheduled to make his public debut at the zoo later this week or early next week, according to Schuele.
Until then, Germans can follow the bear's progress in a vast photo spread and videos of Knut drinking from his bottle, bathing and playing with teddy bears and soccer balls, all available on the zoo's Web site.
I thought all the Polar Bears drowned.
Knut cute:
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2007/01/omgwtfpolarbear.html
http://community.livejournal.com/baaaaabyanimals/3020842.html#cutid1
Well, I guess at least they are consistent regardless of species. Young humans whose parents don't want them should be killed, too.
Just more of the left's cult of death. Until they can legitimize the killing of a perfectly healthy animal, they won't be able to justify the euthanasia of perfectly healthy people.
It's a quality of life issue, dontcha know....
These are the same nuts who oppose snomobies in Yellowstone because animals starve there in the winter. So, feed the animals, doofus.
Let's ask Frank about his childhood.
The number of polar bears along with just about anything else depends on who is doing the counting. Wait until that bear is a full grown 800 or 900 lbs and then if the animal rights-wackos want to kill him let them draw straws to see who gets the chance up close and personal.
Same thing they think about people. They decide what and who is "better off dead".
Its a mental disorder affecting the selfish left.
Double check your numbers, Doc. They are increasing. No need to counter 'rights' ignorance with additional ignorance.
Sounds like the same mindset that says they would have an abortion before they would put their baby up for adoption.
Do you think both groups could be liberal?
They should have taken the mother to Planned Parenthood and had the baby cub aborted.
Seems to me this Albrecht guy deserves to be put in a cage with a fully grown Polar Bear for 1 hour.
"Bild, which has featured regular full-color photo spreads tracking fuzzy Knut's frolicking."
Its a white bear. Why stipulate that the photos were 'full' color? Oh, well...
Penguin goes into a bar asks the bartender if hes seen his father. Bartender asks, 'whats he look like?'
Hmmmm....abandoned animals, unwanted children, and the infirmed should all go. At least their Death Cult message is consistent. No wonder these people are always angry and protesting something.....they're absolutely miserable.
http://www.seaworld.org/whats%2Dnew/znn/1995/november/klondike%2D%26%2Dsnow.htm
I hope these 'activists' would tell this to Klondike and Snow at SeaWorld. These two rescued bears look happy as well, two fat polar bears!
That polar bear is a damn cutie!!
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