The case in summary: Strøm-Larsen, a family-owned butcher shop in Oslo, sold 50 kilos of bear meat in a few days. The bear meat came from a bear that had taken sheep in Trøndelag and had been given a felling permit. The sale of the bear meat provoked strong reactions and was criticized as “reprehensible” and “tasteless” in the comments section on the store’s Facebook. The animal rights organization Noah, led by veterinarian Siri Martinsen, believes that it should be prohibited to sell meat from endangered species such as bears. Environmental policy spokesperson in SV, Lars Haltbrekken, supports Strøm-Larsen and believes it is good that the meat is eaten once the bear has been shot. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Rare meat was torn away from Strøm-Larsen’s meat counter. – It disappeared very quickly, says Jan Strøm-Larsen. He is the general manager at the family-owned meat shop Strøm-Larsen at Torshov in Oslo. Last week they received a product a little out of the ordinary. – It was a bear that had taken sheep in Trøndelag, for which felling permission had been granted. The supplier they usually buy reindeer meat from had brought in the bear. They wondered if the butcher shop was interested. 50 kilos of bear meat were placed in the meat counter of Strøm-Larsen on Wednesday. Saturday morning it was empty. A LOT OF NOISE: General manager Jan Strøm-Larsen says that there were many people who reacted to the fact that the butcher’s shop sold bear meat. Photo: Ingrid Uleberg / news – Lots of emotions Støm-Larsen chose to publish a post on Facebook to tell the customers that they had received Norwegian bear meat. In the comments section, people wrote that the sale was both “reprehensible” and “distasteful”. – There are a lot of emotions around this. More than we thought, so we removed the post, says Strøm-Larsen. Brown bear is protected in Norway, and the species is listed as highly threatened, according to the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomics. Nevertheless, permits are granted for the felling of bears. One of the reasons may be that they kill livestock. – Should have been banned Veterinarian and head of the animal rights organization Noah, Siri Martinsen, is among those who react that you could buy Norwegian bear meat from Strøm-Larsen. – It should have been prohibited to sell meat from endangered species, says Martinsen. She believes that the bear should never have been shot. Noah has complained about all felling permits that have been granted for bears this summer, says Martinsen. – That bear should have been alive out in the forest. Predators kill other animals. That’s how nature works. CRITICAL: Leader and spokesperson for the animal rights organization Siri Martinsen believes the bear meat should not have been sold. Photo: Ingeborg Undheim / news The vet also thinks it is wrong to sell bear meat. Creating a market for meat from endangered species can lead to the killing of even more people, according to Martinsen. – It should be a minimum requirement that meat from endangered species is not promoted. – A healthy life One of those who support Strøm-Larsen is environmental policy spokesperson Lars Haltbrekken in SV. – We don’t throw away tens of kilos of meat in a world that is starving. I think that is simply reprehensible. Haltbrekken does not agree with Noah. He says that once the bear is dead, it is good that the meat is eaten. DISAGREE: Environmental policy spokesman in SV, Lars Haltbrekken, gives his full support to Strøm-Larsen and believes it would be wrong to throw away the meat. Photo: Tale Hauso He himself has had reactions to eating meat from protected animals. – When I was head of the Nature Conservation Association, eating bear meat made my life hellish. Like the butcher shop, Haltbrekken posted a picture on Facebook. There were many negative comments in the comments section. – I defended it by saying that it may well be that this bear should not have been shot, but now it has been shot, and then we also have to eat it. Rare food Managing director Strøm-Larsen is not afraid that the bear meat they sold will lead to more bears being shot in Norway. – It’s probably been 15 years since the last time we got a Norwegian bear, I think. So it’s not something that happens very often. Gonzalo Chacana works as a shop butcher at Strøm-Larsen. He says that the customers think it was cool that they could buy bear meat in Oslo. HAPPY: Shop butcher Gonzalo Chacana thinks it’s good that the bear meat was not thrown away. Photo: Ingrid Uleberg / news – It’s a little worse on social media. There are always people who have something to say, and of course they should be allowed to, says Chacana. He is one of those who got to taste the bear meat before it was torn away from the meat counter at Strøm-Larsen. – The bear had a good life until it was shot. It’s just nice that we get it and can sell it, instead of it being thrown away. Published 20.08.2024, at 07.49
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Bear meat was ripped off the counter at the Strøm-Larsen butcher shop in Oslo – Greater Oslo
