Norwegian farmers’ carefully cultivated image of taking good care of their animals in almost idyllic settings was shattered Wednesday night. An NRK documentary revealed widespread animal abuse among those raising pork, along with cynical attitudes among farmers who were well aware they were violating Norway’s animal welfare regulations, and seemed immune to the suffering they […]
Heads roll at food safety authority
May 24, 2019
The head of Norway’s state regulatory agency in charge of animal- and food safety (Mattilsynet) resigned Friday, in the midst of a rising scandal. Harald Gjein’s resignation comes after state broadcaster NRK revealed an incorrect and seriously flawed report by the state regulator on a fur farmer in Rogaland that has brought the regulator’s credibility into question. […]
Sheep delivered seven lambs
April 24, 2019
Sheep rancher Øystein Knutsen said he could hardly believe it when one of his ewes gave birth Easter Sunday morning to no less than seven lambs. All of them, including the ewe herself, survived. Three days later, an unusually large flock was stumbling around in Knutsen’s barn at Vang in Hamar. Three of the lambs […]
Man charged with poisoning chimpanzee
March 15, 2019
A Norwegian man in his 40s with a criminal record has admitted to throwing bottles filled with amphetamine-laced drinks into the chimpanzee enclosure at the zoo in Kristiansand. Norway’s legendary chimp named Julius knew how to open the bottles, and the results were frightening. “He (the suspect) said that he’d been thinking for awhile that he […]
Police probe attempt to poison wolves
March 13, 2019
Someone has tried to poison Norway’s largest wolf pack, known as Kynnareviret, which roams in an area between Våler and Åsnes in Hedmark County. Police have found poisoned bait in six separate locations this winter, not far from the cadaver of a moose that had been killed by wolves just before the Christmas holidays. “This […]
Musk ox shot in Dovre
March 7, 2019
Seven of Norway’s Arctic musk ox that wander around the mountains of Dovre were shot in a single day this week, part of an effort to reduce the herd by up to 20. Wildlife authorities claim the goal is to ward off “conflicts” within the herds and between the musk ox and people. County officials […]
Someone wanted to poison Julius
March 5, 2019
Norway’s most famous chimpanzee, Julius, fell seriously ill during the recent winter holiday week after drinking the contents of a plastic bottle that someone tossed into his chimp enclosure at the country’s largest zoo in Kristiansand. The bottle contained narcotics, sending the chimp into a dangerous psychosis. “We’re shocked,” Rolf-Arne Ølberg, zoo veterinarian, stated on […]
Rabies threatens Svalbard reindeer
March 1, 2019
Authorities on Norway’s Arctic island group of Svalbard have burned the carcass of a local reindeer suspected of being infected with rabies. The reindeer’s hind legs had become lame, an indication of the rabies virus. The burned carcass has sparked debate on Svalbard, for being what some call a “grotesque” response, but veterinarians and local […]
Hunters shoot fox after baby clawed
January 4, 2019
Norwegians’ habit of letting their babies nap outdoors in their carriages was being questioned once again this week, after a fox was found inside a carriage and had clawed a baby’s face. Hunters reported Friday that they think they found and shot the fox, while debate flew over babies being left out in the cold. […]
Wolf hunt rules set off more howling
December 18, 2018
Climate and Environment Minister Ola Elvestuen came home from the UN climate meeting in Poland to immediately face howling from all sides, once again over Norway’s growing but still fragile wolf population. Now no one is happy, because Elvestuen is allowing a hunt in a protected zone for the first time, but not allowing hunts […]
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