Why are some animal activists sponsoring an iniative to put Knut to sleep? Can't he be domesticated?

Answer 1

My understanding of the situation is as follows:
Knut was born in a zoo, but shortly ater birth, he was rejected by his mother. Rejection occurs sometimes, either because of illness or injury to the cub, or because the mother is in ill health or too young/inexperienced to raise offspring, so she cuts her losses. In the wild, rejected cubs will die.
The extreme activists concerned here state that because he was rejected, he should have been allowed to die. Now that he is bein rasied by humans, he will not have the experience of learning certain behaviours or interactions. They feel he will ultimately wind up as an unsuccessful animal, unable to interact with other bears, identify potential mates, or survive on his own.
I think some of the interaction argument has some level of truth - One duck raised by parents of a seperate duck species will fail to recognise members of it's own species at maturation. During Californian condor conservation efforts, early generations identified with their human parents and did not recognise members of their own species as potential mates. This was remedied by raising the chicks with condor 'puppets'.
However, this can depend on the species, and may not occur here. As far as I can tell, Knut is a healthy cub and if he survives and is treated right, breeding him later on will help conserve the potential gene pool of polar bears.
As for domestication - No. a wild animal is a wild animal with certain behaviours, regardless of whether or not you raise it in a domestic situation. Domesticated animals have been selectively bred for many generations to be what they are - and even then they can survive in the wild or attack a person just like a wild animal would/could. It would be very dangerous to consider the largest bear on earth as a domesticated animal.

Answer 2

All i can say about animal activists is that.... well.....Lets take PETA for example. A few years ago, they said they were going to 'adopt' and foster a bunch of kittens from a humane society to adopt them out to loving homes... Well, for anyone that knows how the rest of the story goes, you know where I am going with this. They would rather kill every animal that is used for research, exhibits, companions, or education purposes than have them live in captivity. I dont see a problem with animals living in captivity and if the cub (i dont know the full situation, only from what i have herd here) is doing fine, leave him alone. Let him live out his life. We dont go around killing children that their mothers died during childbirth do we?? No!!! We dont kill orphans do we??? NO!!! Why should it be any different with animals?? That is why there is a such thing known as cross-fostering. It works most of the time.

Answer 3

Personally, I think those who want to kill a living creature are whacked, no matter what their claim to activism is. This is a matter of valuing life over the ideal that we should not interfere with nature. Perhaps those who are in opposition should concentrate on bigger issues concerning our impact on the environment. I think the little bear should be kept; there may be no more polar bears very soon, and I oppose them becoming extinct because man has ruined their environment. It may be a situation of keeping some in captivity to preserve the species, since it will not be feasible to restore their habitat. I would like my future children to be familiar with the polar bear.

Answer 4

While I don't agree with the activists, they feel that since he is a wild animal, that he shouldn't be caged and kept that way. That euthanizing him is the best step. I hate to see any animal euthanized if it is healthy, and no threat, in a well kept area. Wild animals are very dangerous and should not be kept as pets. But putting him in a nice zoo with lots of space and water for him to swim in I believe is humane.

Answer 5

He can't really be domesticated, but he can certainly live well and happily in captivity. His early relationship with humans may even make him better adapted to zoo life.

Answer 6

PETA has a saying “Better dead than fed”
These people are badly misguided and know very little about animals!