Call for Lethal Injection for Berlin Baby Polar Bear Rejected Knut, the baby polar bear, to live Knut will live! The little polar bear who is charming all of Germany, can continue to be raised by his keepers, according to a statement by vet André Schüle of the Berlin Zoologischer Garten [zoo]. He thus firmly contradicted animal rights activists who had recommended on the weekend that the polar bear be given a lethal injection. The magazine Der Spiegel triggered the controversial debate about the cute polar bear and the disputed recommendation of the lethal injection in its latest edition (“A Wild Beast becomes Human”). “Animal rights activists are calling for the little polar bear to die because it is being raised by hand, which is not very species- appropriate,” the magazine writes. Zoo vet Schüle said “These cobbled-together half-truths are annoying and impossible to understand”. Knut’s fate has touched all of Germany since his birth. He and a twin brother were born at the beginning of December. One of the cubs of polar bear mother Tosca (20) died after four days - Knut lived! Two days ago, the famous photographer Annie Leibovitz visited Knut and took photos of him for an environmental campaign. In spite of the decision, questions remain open: Is so much human contact good for a wild animal anyway? Will other members of Knut’s species accept him when he is fully grown? Would it be better for Knut if he had died at once? Count Wolfram Ludwig, the director of the Aachen Zoo, said to BILD: “I do not consider it species-appropriate to raise the little polar bear by feeding him with a bottle. He will always be fixated on the keeper. He won’t become a real polar bear. But it’s much too late to put him to sleep and kill him now. The mistake has been made. They should have had the courage to let him die much sooner.“ Just a few months ago, a polar bear attacked its keeper in Bremerhaven, severely injuring him. Der Spiegel quotes a bear expert: “When Knut is sexually mature, the keeper will cop a real bashing!“ The head of the German Animal Welfare Association, Wolfgang Apel, said “The humanising of the polar bear must stop as soon as possible, but he mustn’t be put to sleep. He has a right to live.” http://www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/news/2007/03/19/eisbaer-knut/knuddel- totgespritzt.html .