It's a polar bear, it's living in a German Zoo - can we get any more unnatural than that??

[LynneSin]

Seriously - I would never associate "Animal Rights Activists" with the word "Dumbass" but in this case I truly think it's a perfect fit. It's not like this polar bear is ever going to live in it's natural environment anytime in it's lifetime so why not allow the bear to be nursed by humans so the little cutie can grow up and entertain millions of visiters who come to the zoo? I'm just baffled by the stupidity logic used by these particular activists. Perhaps they should be questioning why animals are in zoos, not why are humans are feeding baby animals in zoos.

These people make about as much sense as the anti-choice crowd which fights tooth&nail to save the fetus but can't be bothered helping the millions of children who live in substandard conditions throughout the world



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070321/ap_on_sc/germany_polar_bear;_ylt=AmRqVNh7dbCLQvkcJi0l0L0DW7oF



Human handling of polar bear stirs flap By JOSH WARD, Associated Press Writer
Wed Mar 21, 7:36 AM ET



BERLIN - Berlin Zoo's abandoned polar bear cub Knut looks cute, cuddly and has become a front-page media darling, but an animal rights activist insisted Monday he would have been better off dead than raised by humans.


"Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws," animal rights activist Frank Albrecht was quoted as saying by the mass-circulation Bild daily, which has featured regular photo spreads tracking fuzzy Knut's frolicking.

[GirlinContempt]

1. I saw that on the TV yesterday

CUTE bear, weird story.

[slj0101]

2. They said "fuzzy Knut."

:d

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

3. Well that so-called "animal rights activist" isn't even associated with any organization.

He appears to be a lone crackpot, but saying, "lone crackpot wants bear dead" doesn't make for good news.

[LynneSin]

4. I realize not all animal rights activists are dumbasses

Just this guy and those living in New Jersey who drive SUVs and boats

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

8. Why do you hate America?

[LynneSin]

9. Why do you hate baby jesus?

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

13. It's your thread, so you're making baby Jesus cry.

[GirlinContempt]

7. You don't have to be associated with an organization to be an animal rights activist

The story points out that he is a lone guy, and that the German Federation for the Protection of Animals spoke out against him, and that some others sort of agreed with him but not exactly.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

10. I know you don't have to be associated with an organization to be an animal rights activist.

I'm just saying this dude is a lone crackpot. This story was posted in GD and it turned into AR bashing, because a lot of people don't like to read and think all AR activists are like him.

[GirlinContempt]

11. Ahhhh

Yeah. There ware nut bars in all kinds of places, and they do tend to get more attention. I missed the GD posting, but I'm not surprised the information wasn't widely read.

[asthmaticeog]

5. This is nothing.

This Frank Albrecht doesn't seem to be affiliated with any actual animal rights groups. I think he's a solo artist, and possibly even a troll - calling for a newly-minted icon to be killed under the auspices of "animal rights" makes animal rights people look monstrous.

[Maddy McCall]

6. A polar bear and a snow leopard in the Jackson Mississippi Zoo?

Don't know if the polar bear's still there (it was several years ago) but I know for a fact that the snow leopard's still there.

[BikeWriter]

12. Uh, a polar bear, and it's living in a an American Zoo ?

[XNASA]

14. Being kept in a zoo is also not species-appropriate, Frank.

But that ship has sailed.

Poor widdle fella.

[radfringe]

15. can we get any more unnatural than that? actually yes

we have a chimp in the white house being advised by a pack of baboons, toadys and lapdogs

[Gormy Cuss]

16. Oh crap. Not Knut nut again.

The AP story has more info than the other link and more quotes from other German AR types, most of whom more or less agree with Albrecht that the decision to let the cub live was perhaps inhumane. Even Albrecht's take is less crackpot-like in the AP version:

Albrecht told The Associated Press his beliefs were more nuanced than reported by Bild, though he applauded the debate the article had started.

He explained that though he thought it was wrong of the zoo to have saved the cub's life, now that the bear can live on his own, it would be equally wrong to kill him.

"If a polar bear mother rejected the baby, then I believe the zoo must follow the instincts of nature," Albrecht said. "In the wild, it would have been left to die."

The GD and LBN threads did devolve to AR bashing rather quickly. I chalk that up to a thread posted on a day with a name ending in "y"

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

17. Wow! I didn't know one guy spoke for all animal rights folk everywhere. n/t