Gun control is a tricky subject. In some countries, like the UK, guns are heavily regulated: it's
difficult to even get a license to own one, and even most police officers don't carry guns.
In America, the right to bear arms is a constitutional right and a political battleground.
And then... then you have Svalbard. Welcome to the Arctic Circle, 78 degrees north, where
polar bears are a genuine and very lethal threat.
This one, obviously, not a lethal threat.
In 2011, a group of school children camping about 25 miles from here were attacked by
a bear; one of them was killed and others were seriously injured. In 2015, someone camping
here for the solar eclipse was mauled by a bear. Because of that threat, Svalbard is
the only place in the world where carrying a gun is legally required.
There's a town in the southern US where owning a gun is required, but the law was a political
statement: you don't actually have to carry it with you, and no-one enforces the law.
Here, though: the regulations on Svalbard require any group travelling outside the main
settlements to keep at least one rifle with them, along with someone who knows how to
use it. If like me, you don't have a gun permit? Then you venture out on guided tours only.
Meeting a bear is unlikely, but it is a risk you do not want to take.
That doesn't mean you get trigger-happy, though. If you actually have to use your gun, something
has gone desperately wrong. The tripwires you placed around your camp failed to fire
off their explosives, the lookout fell asleep, you couldn't frighten the bear away with a
warning shot. If you actually have to kill a bear, there will be a long and serious police
investigation: but that is better than the long and serious police investigation that'll
follow after you've been mauled to death.
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