Ah, Iceland ... What's up with all these Scandinavian countries? (Wait, is Iceland Scandinavian, Nordic, or both? Anyways ...)
Here's a sad story of a polar bear, the first to swim to Iceland in 15 years, only to be shot dead by police:
The bear was spotted nonchalantly strolling along a road near the town of Skagafjördur yesterday morning around 9.30am by a farmer.
Experts say it had arrived on an ice floe and local laws stipulate they can be killed – despite the fact they are on the endangered species list – if one threatens humans or livestock.
Stefán Vagn Stefánsson, the chief police officer of a neighbouring town, took the decision to shoot it dead. He claimed no narcotics were available and a gun necessary to fire such drugs was in another part of Iceland 'so therefore it was necessary to kill it'. The animal was moving and we could not risk losing sight of it. Weather conditions were foggy and the bear was moving quickly.
But his version of events was hotly disputed by the chief veterinarian in the town of Blönduó. Egill Steingrímsson said he had the knockout drugs neccesary to immobilise the bear.
Previously on Neatorama: Rare White Moose? Let's Shoot It, Said Norwegians
These things aren't cuddly, they'll kill you. They aren't all dying out, they're reproducing quickly.