The city of Stockholm has received threats and hatred after two moose that strayed onto Södermalm were shot dead by game wardens.
– It has been a turned-up tone, and we have had to receive hate and threats, says Malinda Flodman, communicator at the traffic office in the city of Stockholm to TV4 Nyheterna.
On Friday, two moose calves that had wandered around on Södermalm in central Stockholm since early in the morning were shot.
Now the municipality’s wildlife wardens and pest coordinators have had to receive several threats from the public. Although he is not the one who shot the moose, he has become the face of the public when he has spoken out in the media about the incident. The city of Stockholm confirms this for TV4 Nyheterna.
– It has been a turned-down tone, and we have had to receive several threats and hate, says Malinda Flodman, communicator at the traffic office in the city of Stockholm to TV4 Nyheterna.
According to the municipality, the threats have come in from upset people by phone.
– The callers are committed and do not think we should kill the animals. But it is the most humane way to handle this, says Malinda Flodman.
– The moose cannot find their way out by themselves and can harm people, she continues.
Putting the animals to sleep is also not an option as they can become stressed from being shot.
The municipality reports to the police
The municipality will now report the threats against the employee to the police.
– When our employees are threatened, we always report to the police, says Malinda Flodman.
She does not want to describe in more detail what the threats are about, but adds that it is not the first time something like this has happened.
– It happens quite often, several times a year, she says.
Early on Friday morning, the police were called to Södermalm in central Stockholm to direct traffic and keep the public away from the “stressed moose calves” that got lost.
Tina witnessed the incident: “It felt like that”
Tina was one of the surprised Stockholmers who got to see two moose calves walking on Södermalm in Stockholm. Because it was considered too difficult and too dangerous to try to get them back to the forest, they had to be euthanized. In the clip above, she talks about the incident.