Is it right to shoot a bear that is attacking you in its territory?

[Venant]

A new incident is sparking outrage around the world, that revolves around a Polar Bear being shot for attempting to eat a cruise ship employee. The most obvious criticism is that they shouldn't have been in the Polar Bear's territory, but does that mean they should have allowed their fellow employee to be eaten by the bear?

Do bears and humans have equal rights? Some might see this like a burglar breaking into your house, and if you were a bear the most logical thing to do to a burglar would be to eat it. Of course, if you believe humans have superior rights to bears, then this argument, and the arguments of the PETA crowd in general, sound ludicrous.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/polar-b...ay-2018-07-30/

Cruise ship guards' killing of polar bear sparks international outrage

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Norwegian authorities on Monday defended the actions of guards from a German cruise ship that killed a polar bear that had attacked and injured a crew member, saying they at first tried to scare it away. Police spokesman Ole Jakob Malmo said two members of the 12-man crew that set foot on the most northern island of the Svalbard archipelago ahead of tourists on Saturday first tried to ward off the bear "by shouting and making loud noises as well as firing a signal pistol, but to no effect."

A 42-year-old German man who was not identified sustained minor head injuries from the attack, Malmo said.

The incident sparked international outrage, with animal rights activists saying that it was wrong to begin with to let tourists from the MS Bremen cruise ship encroach upon territory known as a habitat for the vulnerable species.

The German cruise ship operator Hapag Lloyd Cruises said on its Facebook page that the purpose of the landing on Svalbard was not "to serve the purpose of polar bear observation, on the contrary: polar bears are only observed from aboard ships, from a safe distance."

British comedian Ricky Gervais took to Twitter to call the tourists "morons," while another user, Jane Roberts, said that if such tourism was banned, guards "wouldn't be needed to protect gawking tourists & polar bears would be left in peace & not shot dead merely to satisfy a photo op."

[Kelathos]

Do I give another living thing the right to eat me? Oh, hell no.

If we want to protect wildlife more, make it a crime the be in their territory.

[Saucexorzski]

What isnt human territory these days?

[ParanoiD84]

Polar bears needs to eat have you seen how skinny they are.

[Queen of Hamsters]

... Is this PC culture taken too far? I'd say so...

They could always build a wall out of the people screeching about it, let them serve as necessary meat shields for the tourists.

[Alvito]

While I might feel bad for killing an animal I am protecting myself and my family at damn near any costs. A unicorn could attack my family and I would kill it without hesitation if that was the only way to keep them safe.

[Animalhouse]

What next, free healthcare and education for Polar Bears?

Of course you save someone being attacked by a bear. If it dies it dies.

[Celista]

I mean, bears attack people in human territory. There were 3 fatal bear maulings in Anchorage last year, a metro area of 380k people.

[Narwal]

Do I give another living thing the right to eat me? Oh, hell no.

If we want to protect wildlife more, make it a crime the be in their territory.

What territory is the bears, and what territory is ours? Are you saying animals should have land ownership rights? What if one bear encroaches on another bears territory, should we take it to civil court?

[Jonnusthegreat]

Yes, it is right to shoot. Now whether you are in their territory for malicious intent or simply lost or w/e, that's what makes you a bad/good person for it. But either way, you can.

[JackOnPar]

inb4 the Speciesism Squad comes in

[Queen of Hamsters]

While I might feel bad for killing an animal I am protecting myself and my family at damn near any costs. A unicorn could attack my family and I would kill it without hesitation if that was the only way to keep them safe.

Unicorns are to be feared.

[Zappidoo]

If I was in your house and you tried to eat me I would shoot you.

[Uncle]

Do you have any other choice? Seriously, you won't let your collegue/friend be eaten alive in front of you without reacting. An human life must always pass over an animal's life, no: humans aren't animals and human and animals don't have the same rights, and won't ever have, period.

Is this sad? Yes, but the alternative would be worst.

[God Save The King]

Self defense is self defense. Animals don't follow our set of laws, customs, and regulations. I'm sure the Polar Bear wasn't being threatened by the employee, if you want to get obtuse. It'd be like someone breaking into your home, who is unarmed and surrenders. If you still try to kill them, and they kill you in self defense, they wouldn't be charged with murder.

But in all seriousness, it should generally be illegal to enter the territory of an endangered species and then proceed to kill it. I agree with the article that tourists shouldn't've been taken to their territory without proper precautions.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Right in what respect, because being all philosophical about it or no, something is trying to kill you then defend yourself.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Self defense is self defense. Animals don't follow our set of laws, customs, and regulations. I'm sure the Polar Bear wasn't being threatened by the employee, if you want to get obtuse. It'd be like someone breaking into your home, who is unarmed and surrenders. If you still try to kill them, and they kill you in self defense, they wouldn't be charged with murder.

But in all seriousness, it should generally be illegal to enter the territory of an endangered species and then proceed to kill it. I agree with the article that tourists shouldn't've been taken to their territory without proper precautions.

I think a fine and prosecution should be in order though, not for killing the bear, but for going somewhere they shouldn't have been that created the situation in the first place.

[Dwarfhamster]

You shouldn't have put yourself in the situation where you're in the bear's territory to begin with.

[God Save The King]

I think a fine and prosecution should be in order though, not for killing the bear, but for going somewhere they shouldn't have been that created the situation in the first place.

Yeah I pretty much agree. However if you went there on purpose, and then ended up killing an endangered species, I believe you should be prosecuted accordingly. Obviously intent matters and accidents happen, but in this case, they knew what they were risking.

[Shadowferal]

Hmf...bears operate under the law of survival...so...shoot to kill.