It was apparently fairly widespread for Europeans to get imported squirrels from China and North America as pets method again in April of 1999. The squirrel commerce was booming. A giant cargo of squirrels transported by KLM Royal Dutch airways from China was halted at Schiphol airport en path to an alleged Greek squirrel collector in Athens. According to stories from the time, the squirrels arrived with out correct documentation or a return handle in China, and the airline was unable to discover a new residence for the squirrels. The squeaky floor animals, together with a whole lot of different turtles and birds, have been disposed of in “the most humane” method the Dutch may consider: being hand-fed into a large shredder.
According to stories, KLM shoved all of those animals into an industrial meat processing machine, arguing it had merely adopted well being legal guidelines and laws concerning the disposal of improperly imported reside animals. A spokesperson for the airline mentioned on the time that regardless of the seemingly merciless technique of destruction, he insisted this was essentially the most humane method of complying with authorized laws. The animal shredding acquired such ire from the general public that the Dutch parliament was pressured to name an emergency assembly to amend the legal guidelines.
Apparently the regulation was written underneath the idea that the imported animals would arrive in small portions, and no person ever decided it could be essential to shred a whole lot of reside animals without delay. In a latest interview in regards to the idea of “accountability sinks,” Dan Davies advised Bloomberg the story of the squirrels, summing it up thusly:
…When you construct a system, you might be at all times constructing a mannequin of the world, and if one thing occurs which doesn’t match into your mannequin on this planet, your system would possibly do one thing terrible.
Maybe, earlier than you go shredding a bunch of squirrels, take a second to step again and have a look at the bigger image.
Source: jalopnik.com