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Baby Polar Bear Cub, "Cute Knut," Wanted Dead by Activists
Meet Knut . He's a three-month-old polar bear cub, a roly-poly ball of white fuzz with bright black eyes. He enjoys hugging his soccer ball, gnawing on scrub brushes, and following his keeper around from room to room. Frank Albrecht wants him dead.
Animal rights activist Albrecht says that Knut, who was born at the Berlin Zoo in December and neglected by his mother, is having his natural instincts twisted. By raising the cub themselves, Albrecht says, zoo officials are perverting nature. "Raising him by hand is not appropriate to the species but rather a blatant violation of animal welfare laws," Albrecht told the German newspaper Bild. "In actual fact, the zoo needs to kill the bear cub." Albrecht later said that "If a polar bear mother rejected the baby, then I believe the zoo must follow the instincts of nature."
And Albrecht isn't the only one who wants to put the kibosh on Knut. Rudiger Schmiedel, director of the German Bear Foundation said, "You can't domesticate a wild animal ...When Knut reaches puberty, his keeper is going to get a whack upside the head." Activists from Germany's Green Party and Left Party also expressed opposition to the zoo's decision to hand-raise the cub.
Getting rid of Knut would be a hard sell: daily Berlin papers feature front page pics of the cub's gambolings, tv stations happily broadcast videos of him, and the city's hockey team wants the baby bruin as their mascot. Photographer Annie Liebovitz took Knut's portrait on Saturday for a wilderness conservation campaign. All this is before Knut has even made his public debut. Although fans can see pics of Knut on the Berlin Zoo's website, the real-life cub only just reached his public-display weight requirement (18 lbs) on Friday. Zoo officials say that Knut will be unveiled to Berliners in a week or so.
Zoo officials say that Knut is valuable not just as an attraction, but as part of a dwindling polar bear DNA pool. "Polar bears are under threat of extinction," said Andre Schuele, the veternarian who cares for Knut. "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."
—Jen Phillips
DONT KILL KNUT!!!!!!!!!!!
How many humans parents "reject" their children? Should we "kill" them too?
Apparently, some individuals, should "spend their time" furthering their education.
How dare that so called "Animal Activist", even think of a horrible thing like that. What gives him the right to know what is right the cub. The cub has gone through enough already with losing it's family. I know that the zoo would give it a life that it would never have had, being an orphan in the wild. They would do everything they could to make it feel at home and enjoy itself.
I frankly belive (aftermuch research) that the dammage is allready done, and it would be extreamly crule to kill him now. He seams to be haveing a happy life, so I see no real reson to end it so soon.
If this creature had ever been intended for release back into the wild after birth, I might possibly be able to view the situation differently.
But that is not the case, as I understand it. The mother was in captivity, the cubs would have eventually been loaned or transferred to other zoos. They were going to be fed by humans, anyway.
The activists are behaving as if Knut were going to be kept alive for the purpose of medical testing or something.
They are misguided and should stand-down.
Knut should live. Period.
Knut should be allowed to live and thrive amoung the people that have showed him this much compassion for a chance to live. Activists should be happy and not outraged that a wonderful creature is being kept in our amazing world and not brutaly killed out in the wild.
DO NOT KILL KNUT!!!!!!!!
HE HAS THE RIGHT TO LIVE!!!!!
KILLING HIM WOULD BE INHUMANE!!!!
AS STATED ABOVE... THE DAMAGE HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE!!!!
MY ROTTWIELER DOG MOTHER OF 13 REJECTED ONE OF HER 13 PUPPIES,WE TRIED TO PUT HIM BACK WITH HIS MOTHER AND THE MOTHER DIDN'T WANT HIM, HE WAS THE SMALLEST OF THE LOT... SO MY GRANDMOTHER HAND RAISED HIM FROM TWO DAYS ONWARDS, HE GREW UP TO BE THE BEST DOG EVER, AND JUST AS NORMAL AS HE WOULD HAVE BEEN IF HE WAS BOUGHT UP BY HIS OWN MOTHER. EVERY ANIMAL NEEDS TO BE CARED FOR IT IS JUST A PART OF LIFE,JUST BECAUSE KNUT'S MOTHER ABANDONED HIM ASWELL DOES NOT MEAN THAT HE CAN NOT BE CARED FOR BY HUMANS!!!!
JUST LIKE IF A BABY'S PARENTS DIED HE OR SHE WOULD BE PLACED IN AN ORPHANAGE IF NOBODY ELSE COULD TAKE THEM IN.
I ALONG WITH MILLIONS BELIEVE THAT KNUT, IS GORGEOUS AND HAS EVERY RIGHT TO LIVE!!!!!
WHY WERE ZOO'S CREATED THEN???
THEY TAKE IN ANIMALS ALL THE TIME, THEY NURTURE AND CARE FOR THEM AND SHOW THEM OFF TO THE PUBLIC... THEY BRING IN TOURISTS, JUST LIKE KNUT WILL AND OBVIOUSLY ALREADY HAS CREATED A PUBLIC REACTION... KNUT THE BABY POLAR BEAR HAS ALREADY BECOME AN ASSET TO THE ZOO, THERE IS NO REASON TO HARM OR ABANDON HIM... DO NOT KILL HIM!!!
FIND YOUR HEART AND DO NOT LET KNUT BE KILLED!!!!!
I find these people to be heartless, how could you kill something that was born in captivity (a zoo) does that mean that all animals that are rejected by there mothers should be destroyed???
This animal has the right to live it was born in captivity so whats the difference it was never going back into the wild, it would and still will have human contact.
I AGREE that taming one of the most dangerous creatures on Earth really IS a perversion of nature. It defies the nature of the animal and it won't be able, nor even have the option to live it's own normal life. HOWEVER, there are a few options to consider. It can be raised until it is big & old enough to fend for itself, and possibly starve to be killed by another bear, walrus, etc. But there's already talk of killing it, so at least it has a fighting chance. Attempts can be made to have a wild bear adopt it. Tranquilizers at the ready, 2-3 different bears, no takers, consider it a failure. And finally, why not raise it in captivity? I personally believe keeping ANYTHING locked up out of it's natural habitat is WRONG, but it's being done all over the globe, so why is this bear any different? Kill it because it can't be like all the other bears? Okay, fine, then let's kill all the handicapped HUMANS while we're at it, those who can't walk, can't think, have digestive problems, have other conditions, that are different from what the perfect human is meant to be. Ahhh... do you see the ways of your hypocrisy?
KNUT HAS EVERY RIGHT TO LIVE.... He is indeed an endangered specie. Killing him is totally inhumane. The cub did not choose to be domesticated; but his chances of survival would certainly prove to be a better option at this point.
The little furry cub is getting so much attention around the world; So many people would like to see him survive. He did not asked to be abandoned by his mother. Somehow humans do the same to their babies; so does that give us the right to kill human babies as well?
We know it's not natural for a wild animal to be raised by humans; since the animal won't learn how to survive back in the wild; but Knut does not have to live in the wild. Let the zoo or a special place for polar bears take care of him!
There are all kinds of wild animals raised in captivity and they live in zoos. This would be a better measure than killing this innocent polar bear cub.
If humans want to raise him and care for him; so be it.
On another note; with the Global Warming and the Polar Bears' plight to survive, the polar bear is becoming an endangered specie. The world needs to save these beautiful creatures; why not start with Knut?
Knut can grow up just fine and have a good life right where he is. The Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, Alaska has been the home of several bears both Polar and Grizzly who had been orphaned. The bear cubs have to be brought in to a safe environment, hand raised by Humans or die in their Arctic environment. Even Bears raised by people will become aggressive when they mature at about age 5, so safety measures must always be followed by the people who care for them. The Alaska Zoo has provided a large, environment complete with 2 waterfalls, a stream running through and a huge Aquarium where the bears can swim. Visitors can view them underwater too. At this point in time EVERY Polar Bear is PRECIOUS....there just are not that many left on this Earth. The man who wants this Polar Bear Cub Dead is NOT an Animal Activist....he is a DEATH ADVOCATE...
For Knut
I'm a Polar Bear cub and our numbers are few
like some of our kind, I was raised in a zoo
I have never been in the wild--I doubt I'd survive
but I've a much better chance here of staying alive.
In the wild we are dwindling, as our land shrinks
many humans are noticing and starting to think
Our habitat is endangered and our food supply low
when our world melts, where then will we go?
So, though you may not think my life here ideal
how about the threat of extinction that's real?
In captivity we are tended by humans who care
out there, the way it's going--how would we fare?
Copyright 2007 Kathy Pippig Harris
If you like to believe everything some daily yellow press is writing - and all others relied on that. "Bild" likes to twist stories. Albrecht accused the zoo of violating animal rights, but he did the same a month earlier with the Zoo in Leipzig - because they killed (!) a sloth bear cub there. He only used the arguments, that had been used to justify that, wondering, why differences are made. Maybe not a smart way to point out, that there is some strange logic at work, but oh well. The guy's a bit weird, but he's not seriously asking to kill Knut.
So, what this nitwit is trying to say is:
1. All pre-mature babies should not be given the chance of life.
2. Global warming is not real, and the polar bears in the artic circle will have no problem surviving without glaciers and sea ice.
Knut has every right to live, and killing him would be wrong. I don't think the reasons that activist gave were very good.
Don't animal rights activists also focus on sanving endangered species? From what I've read, polar bears ARE endangered species. People who claim they support saving endangered species, yet aren't willing to let an innocent polar bear cub who looks healthy and strong enough to survive are pretty hypocritcal, as some of the people on this board have also said.
On the other hand, if Knut was very sick, and there was no hope for him, then that's totally different. If he was suffering greatly, and could not be saved, then the right thing to do would be to put him out of his misery.
But he's in perfect health. LET HIM LIVE!!!!!!!!!
Every animal has a right to live no matter what, and no human being has the right to say otherwise.
ok...so what if Knut's mother rejected him. Does that mean we should kill kids in orphanages? I mean their mother's didn't want them either!
There are SO many ways to ease them back in the wild, it can be done! they've been doing that for many many years now for certain animals that are endangered.
These people are crazy. We are a civilized society we don't kill orphans of any kind. Especially those that may be endangered. Thanks God for those that recscued this adorable little polar bear. He looks pretty happy to me and I am happy for him.
Leave Knut alone! Is it really so hard to let one little bear cub live?!
do not kill him you sick mean people
do not put him down he is still a baby and they are indangered animal and they are only triing to help and what if u were abanded wouldn't someone to help you! he just needs a little teaching and then we can put him back that is it!let him live!
People, please calm down.
Nobody ever thought about killing Knut.
A little background:
"Bild" the newspaper who broke this sensationalistic story is, while being the most read...newspaper like piece of paper, also an extreme example of yellow press. They choose their stories based on sensationalistic quality, not on their truth value.
What happened?
Frank Albrecht, an activist who researches violation of animal right laws in german zoos, wrote a press release 6 weeks after the birth of knut (24th of January). It proclaimed that he had filed charges against the Berlin Zoo because of violation of animal rights laws.
The reason he did this, was that in december he had filed charges agains the director of the Zoo in Leipzig who had ordered a sloth bear cup killed because it was, but the prosecutor did not follow up on this. The upbringing by hand, or so the prosecution argued, would lead to conduct disorders in animals; killing it would limit its suffering.
Frank Albrecht filed charges against the Berlin Zoo, to show the contradiction. If one Zoo could kill an animal without penalty, it should be illegal by the same argument to raise the cup by hand as in Knuts case.
At no time any activist had demanded to kill knut. But...how did we get this headline?
A nice case of quoting yourself via an intermediary. "Bild" wrote a small article about this press release in January, already missing the real meaning of the process. "Poor Knut, Animal Activists ask for your death". Frank Albrecht wrote an open letter to clarify the situation.
In march an illustrated journal "Der Spiegel" took up the original flawed "Bild" story, which (in turn) "Bild" used (and seemed to take as reinforcement) to warm this story up, this time in gigantic letters on page one. (Sadly still flawed though).
And sadly this version of the story made it through the international media.
For people ho read German, here are some links with more information:
A background article from "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung":
http://www.faz.net/s/RubCD175863466D41BB9A6A93D460B81174/Doc~E8B8FD4D094...
The open letter by Frank Albrecht:
http://www.ethik-portal.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=103...
A nice little article by BILDblog (a blog that does nothing else but report errors of the BILD zeitung, very amusing):
http://www.bildblog.de/?p=2147
If the staff of the zoo has already adopted the animal it is the responsibility of those people to take care of it as their own child. The polar bear is already under the danger of extinction. Killing Knut does not just mean contributing to the further extinction of precious speices. It aslo means failure to take care of animals the way every zoo has to follow. You decided to adopt the animal, so it is in your hands. Take care of it, and don't follow the behavior of lazy and foolish mother bear. Show what it means to be a human, not as dumb animal who only follows the feeling of natural instinct.
I just want to ask...is this guy nuts?
really now?
you want to kill an animal because his mother "refuses" him?
How many mothers "refuse" their childern, do you want to kill abandoned babies? Afterall, they cant survive on their own, is it wrong to intervrne then?
I say get off your high horse you chovonistic, pompous ass and relize you cant play "god".
its a polar bear!
not a murderer; which is what you will become.
-Mia
nooooo!!!
i will have the polar bear pls dont kill it. i ask my mum and she said i can have it and she will buy the polar bear a home and a place to stay please :(
KILLING KNUT WONT MAKE ANYONE HAPPYER SO DONT DO IT. HE IS A BEAUTIFUL CREATURE AND AN ADORABLE POLAR BEAR SO PLZ LET HIM LIVE. DONT KILL KNUT!
BROOKFIUELD ZOO HAD A CUB REJECTED BY BHIS MOTHER ZOO RAISED HIM TRHE3N 1 YR LATER INTORDUCED A MALE CUB FOR HER THEY GOT ALONG FGREAT NOW AE TOGETHER INMJ NMONTREAL ZOO THESE BEARS ARE ENDANGTERED AND MUST BE PRESEVED FOR SOME IDIOT TO SAY KILL THEM IS WRONG DEAD WRONG ZOOLOPGISTS KNOW WHAT WILL WORK AND WHAT WON;T IF YIU ARE NOT AN EXPERT THEN SHUT UP, NI HAVE SEEN THIS WORK AT BROOKFIELD ZOO SO IT WORKS.
How could anyone even think of killing that adorable baby polar? Knut is so gorgeous nobody could possibly hurt him. Let the little guy enjoy his life. All the Scots love the cute little tyke. Long live Knut!
What a jerk. This person neither understands animal activism or behaves like an animal activist.
What advantage is it to kill an endangered animal that may live for years in captivity for people to love and appreicate.
Being and animal activist means caring for animals not pretending to be God's apointed judge in one's fate.
This is just a pathetic display of grotesquely arrogant ignorance.
good for knut if he is cared for by the berlin zoo for the rest of his life..unfortunately for the animals in zoos, some zoos being better than other, animal wellfare is not at the top of the zoo agenda. even though many of us are aware of the suffering of animls in circuses and roadsides zoos and those kept as exotic pets. zoos will continue to breed animals they say to aid the endangered population however, at the same time zoos on a regular basis sell animals they have 'surplused' to unsavory entity's like circuses and other animal eneteryainment variety. zoos are a business. fopr profit. they want cute , young animals. when animals become aggressive, old or have too many ( from breeding) they sell them off and their welfare is not at the animals welfare is not at the top of the list. did you know that the when certain africanm nations decide to 'cull' ( kill)adult elephants due to 'overpoulation, where do you think the traumatized baby elephants go? to zoos and circuses despite protests from animals sannctuaries who take in the victims of surplused zoo animals. my point being knut is a convenient money maker and attraction fro the berlin zoo. check back in 10 years and see his fate. i truly hope that the berlin zoo is one of those rare quality zoos that truly cares for the welfare of their animals -lifelong.
Killing a porr rejected animal isnt right, those iditic people could just not let him have a mate, that way no other line of bears would have their instincts screwed up. Although he should have some kind of fellow animal to live with.
please don't kill knut i love him to much number one 1 fan i love him so much and also polar bears are like almost instincted i love polar bears they are one of my most favorite animals just please don't kill him i love him to much i will bye him from you if that what itakes i don't want knut to die and i think it's wrong to kill animals especialy wrong to kill knut because polar bears are olmost extincted and any way knuts mother died when knut was just born and it is very cruel
knut is my role model! i love her! and if you are goind to kill her i will buy her right now and i will also bye more i will bye anything for knut so justplease don't kill knut she deserves to be alive! thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, first of all, i do not even know how anybody, even a cruel person, that would even think about killing knut. ya so, after his birth his mother died, does that give YOU the right to kill him? i dont think so. it is not his falt! if that happend to you when you where a baby how would you fell? un loved? ya so if you are going to kill him you are the most sick eresponsible people i have ever heard of! my sister is such a big fan. her walls are covered in knut posters! i will by him for her i will pay my whole bank acount: 876.33. it is not that much but my whole 11 years of life savings. do you people see how much everybody cares and you are just being cruel? i hope so. i just cant think how you could even be that stupid! look at all the other polar bears raised in a zoo, i dont see you killing them. so just let that soak in.
from savannah!
Can i adopt him
Excuse me, but since when is a captive bear momma seen to have the proper instincts in place?
The very act of putting such an animal, that's made to roam scores of miles in a day, into a confined space equivalent -- maybe -- to two or three human houses, is a perversion. To expect an animal so confined to remain sane, is nonsense. To trust the instincts of such an animal regarding cub-rearing, is ridiculously inappropriate.
And deciding, on that evidence, that the neglected offspring is unworthy to live, is the worst sort of arrogance.
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DO NOT KILL INNOCENT LITTLE KNUT! I AM THE ONE WHO IS BUYING HIM!
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DO NOT KILL INNOCENT LITTLE KNUT! I AM THE ONE WHO IS BUYING HIM!
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DO NOT KILL INNOCENT LITTLE KNUT! I AM THE ONE WHO IS BUYING HIM!
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DO NOT KILL INNOCENT LITTLE KNUT! I AM THE ONE WHO IS BUYING HIM!
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DO NOT KILL INNOCENT LITTLE KNUT! I AM THE ONE WHO IS BUYING HIM!