Editor's note: The following is a very barbaric example on how humans can be. I have censored some of the material with a bleep! so animal lovers won't become naucious, and so animal haters won't get any ideas.
10:19 AM ET 04/15/99
KLM Apologizes for Killing Squirrels
KLM Apologizes for Killing Squirrels
By ANTHONY DEUTSCH=
Associated Press Writer=
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) _ Stung by public outrage, KLM Royal
Dutch Airlines apologized Thursday for using a bleep! bleep! to
kill 440 Chinese squirrels shipped illegally to the Netherlands.
KLM called Monday's slaughter an unethical mistake, but said it
had little choice after failing to find a new home for the furry
rodents, which arrived from China last week without proper
documentation en route to a collector in Athens, Greece.
In a statement, the airline said it ``made a grave mistake on
ethical grounds'' when it killed the squirrels, and said it
deserved criticism from the public and animal rights groups.
It said it ``offers its most sincere apologies to animal lovers
and all those offended by the events.''
The employee responsible for the slaughter has been ordered to
stay home pending an investigation. KLM said it would no longer
accept shipments of animals from China and was considering stopping
all transports of exotic animals.
However, KLM argued that it followed health regulations covering
the importation of live animals. The airline blamed the Dutch
Ministry of Nature Management for ordering the squirrels to be
destroyed because they arrived without proper documentation.
Officials have said such rules are intended to minimize the risk
of accidentally introducing animals and diseases not native to the
country.
KLM spokesman Joessef Eddiei said the squirrels were killed
instantly by being dropped _ while apparently still alive _ into a
bleep! used in the commercial poultry industry and recommended by
the government for animal disposal.
``It may sound strange, but it's the most humane way to destroy
animals,'' he told The Associated Press.
``We absolutely don't find this normal,'' countered Mieke
Holtslag of the De Meern Foundation for Squirrel Refuge.
``It's simply absurd,'' she said. ``Just the fact that they
killed them makes me nauseous, let alone how they did it.''
Despite repeated requests from KLM, the Beijing exporter who
shipped the squirrels refused last weekend to take them back, the
airline said. It said it couldn't find anyone else to take them.
Holtslag's husband, Jaap, said the couple's shelter _ which
caters specifically to squirrels _ was never asked to help.
The squirrels' brief stay at an animal detention center at
Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport was disrupted when a large number of
the animals escaped, scurrying onto the runway and causing some
panic among baggage handlers. Nearly all the escapees were believed
to have been recaptured.
KLM said it has asked Dutch and European animal rights
organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund and the European
Association of Zoos and Aquaria, to discuss the incident and avoid
another unpleasant situation.