It didn't come as news to me that animal rights activists have a penchant for killing animals that don't fit within the scheme of their theories of power. But this story involving demands that a zoo in Germany kill an abandoned polar bear cub is especially irritating:

Tiny, fluffy and adorable, Knut the baby polar bear became an animal superstar after he was abandoned by his mother.

He rapidly became the symbol of Berlin Zoo, whose staff bottle-fed him and handed out cuddles in between

At three months old, however, the playful 19lb bundle of fur is at the centre of an impassioned debate over whether he should live or die.

Animal rights activists argue that he should be given a lethal injection rather than brought up suffering the humiliation of being treated as a domestic pet.

"The zoo must kill the bear," said spokesman Frank Albrecht. "Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws."

(Emphasis added.)

Much as I worry that applying logic to the views of someone like Herr Albrecht is an exercise in futility, let me try. What gives him the right to determine what is and is not "species-appropriate"? Did the polar bear identitarian club vote to put him in charge of determining what's appropriate for their species? Or is he just a self appointed spokesman for all species? Hell, I suspect that I belong to the same species as Albrecht, but does that give him the right to decide what's "species-appropriate" for me too? I'm not sure I like that -- any more than I like certain activists deciding what is and is not "natural."

Try as I might, I just can't get over the supreme irony and supreme arrogance of the idea that animal rights activists (who are human beings) should decide what is and what is not "species-appropriate" for animals. I mean, aren't they supposed to be against man having dominion over animals?

Fortunately, the zoo officials don't agree with Albrecht, and they have refused to kill the bear cub. Maybe they should post an armed guard, though, for Knut might need protection against the "species-appropriate" activists....

There's a YouTube video of cute litte Knut engaging in all sorts of "species-inappropriate" acts.

And if you really want to see something "species-inappropriate," check out this video of an abandoned lion which was adopted and raised by a mother dog.

I'm assuming that the animal rights activists would demand the death penalty for both of them -- for their unnatural, species-inappropriate, deviant activities.

Sheesh.

Next thing you know, the animal rights activists will decide that some species are more appropriate than other species -- and that some might be not merely "species-inappropriate," but might be an inappropriate species.

At the rate things are going, pretty soon the only species-appropriate thing for humans to do will be to leave the planet.