Leaving your vacation with a hefty fine isn’t exactly ideal. A tourist was fined over $1,100 for approaching a walrus in a Norwegian archipelago.
Local authorities in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard said that the man went out onto an ice floe and “disturbed a walrus that was lying on the ice.” Members of the public saw the man approach the mammal and reported him to the local governor. It was also made clear that “parts of the incident were also observed by the governor’s employees.”
According to a law in Svalbard, people must conduct themselves in a way which does not lead to unnecessary disturbance of wildlife. Since this tourist didn’t follow the rules, he was brought to the governor’s office, where he accepted the fine.
“The governor encourages everyone to keep a good distance from walruses so that they are not disturbed and so that no danger to people occur,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
Walruses were hunted into near extinction in the Svalbard Archipelago up until they were protected by law in 1952. For this reason, many laws within the area have been specifically aimed at protecting walruses.
Source: https://news.sky.com/story/tourist-fined-for-getting-too-close-to-walrus-in-norway-13124061