Reykjavik - Polar bears that drift ashore on Iceland should be shot and not offered a safe haven, a commission recommended Tuesday. The commission was appointed this summer after two polar bears landed on the northern coast of Iceland apparently after being swept to sea on ice floes from Greenland, several hundred kilometres away.
Both polar bears were shot, but the move sparked protests from some conservationists and animal rights groups in the North Atlantic nation.
Commission head Hjalti Gudmundsson said the recommendation was based on the fact that polar bears pose a potential threat to humans and were not in immediate danger in Greenland.
Other factors considered were the costs of moving the large mammals back to Greenland or a zoo.
The second polar bear was dubbed Ofeig by the media, meaning it should not be killed in Icelandic.
Police marksmen were forced to shoot the bear in mid-June when it charged a group of reporters "in a panic."
