Reindeer Blog

With the ink barely dry on the Statoil - Shtokman deal, with northern political leaders excited about the boost in future investment in the region, other mega projects are starting to emerge. A Swedish company called BothnianArc has applied to the Nordic Council of Ministers for funding to conduct preliminary investigations on the economic and environmental implications of the construction of a gas pipeline from Statoil’s LNG Melkoya plant in Hammerfest to Haparanda, on the northern coast of the Gulf of Bothnia.

The route of the pipeline runs directly through the heart of the reindeer husbandry regions of Finnmark and Northern Finland. The pipeline would then split in two and run down the coasts of Sweden and Finland, servicing the heavy industrial activities that are in both regions, according to the companies press release. If funding is agreed to, they intend to complete their investigations by September 2008.

StatoilHydro, owner of the LNG-plant in Hammerfest, rejected the idea saying there will be too few customers in the area to make a pipeline profitable according to an article in Euroarctic.

─ A pipeline to Sweden has been looked at, but there is no commercial ground for it, says Sverre Kojedal, Information Officer of StatoilHydro.

Sverre Kojedal thinks however that customers in Northern Sweden could sill benefit from the Snohvit gas and in a worrying note for reindeer husbandry said that deliveries of LNG to Sweden could go by road.

A TV news report yesterday on NRK Sami Radio reported that reindeer herders from Krasnochelye, about 140 km East from Lovozero / Lujavri region on the Kola peninsula had written an open letter to the Governor of the region and the media compaining about the poaching and hunting of their reindeer which had become a serious problem, with at least 1200 reindeer reported as being illegally hunted. In the letter, herders blamed administration officials and professional thieves. Download Letter to Governor (Russian)

Download Translation into English

“Given that there for 15 years ago were 80.000 reindeer on the Kola Peninsula, nowadays less than one half of this amount exists. This number is decreasing all the time. Our enterprise is so to speak still without any protection against this catastrophe. Reindeer are even shot from sea going vessels engaged in illegal hunting, from helicopters, snow mobiles and cross-country vehicles. Groups of up to 14 foreign made snow mobiles come from the Tersky District, from Kirovsk and from Lovozero. They operate during the whole winter and spring period. They continue even with shooting reindeer in April, when female reindeer are preparing themselves to give birth to their calves.   In most cases these activities are monitored by hunting inspectors who base their own private business on it. We have noticed that among these hunters are officials of the upper echelons of the local and regional arena. According to data from this year’s hunting operations these illegal hunters this year shot about 1.200 domesticated reindeer belonging to our enterprise. The economic damage done to our co-operative amounts to 5 millions of roubles.” (from letter addressed to Governor of Murmansk)

The Supreme Administrative Court of Finland has halted the forced slaughter of the Paadar brothers reindeer herd in Nellim, northern Finland. The Paadar brothers appealed the decision made on Friday by the court and while this appeal works its way through the court no further slaughtering is to take place. While good news for the Paadar brothers, it was too late to stop the paliskunta force slaughtering 60 cows (approximately 10% of the Paadar brothers stock), with assistance from the Finnish police.

Watch the news clip on NRK Sami Radio News

Read latest news from YLE Sami

Depite price rises in the store for reindeer meat, the prices paid to herders for meat has not changed for five years. Meanwhile, in the Giehtagierra reindeer herding area (the Norther West ‘arm’ of  Finland, reindeer herders have been given more time to count their reindeer but have been told that it must be completed by the end of November and compensation will not be paid if it is not completed by that time. Finally in the Utsjoki municipality, near Karigasniemi, a new reindeer slaughter house was finally opened last week, a project which has been 20 years in the making.

Because of loopholes in the Finnish Reindeer Herding Act, the Ivalo Reindeer Herding Cooperative (paliskunta) has decided to put an end to the forestry dispute in Inari/Nellim by force slaughtering all the reindeer of those reindeer herders who have opposed the forestry operations in Nellim. This is a continuation of the long running case taken by reindeer herders in the region who have complained that forestry operations are destroying reindeer pastures and their livelihoods along with it.

On October 19th, the administrative court of Finland rejected the appeal of the Paadar brothers regarding the Ivalo Reindeer Herding Cooperative decision on the force slaughtering. This means that the separation (bigalusat) that starts today (Oct. 20th) has the backing of law to wipe out the reindeer herding of Nellim district for good.

The Ivalo Reindeer Herding Cooperative has decided to go ahead with forced slaughtering even though the number of reindeer is not above the allowed individual or paliskunta limits. Because of the loopholes in the Finnish reindeer herding act, the Ivalo reindeer herding cooperative has decided to put an end to the forestry dispute in Inari/Nellim by force slaughtering all the reindeer of those reindeer herders who have opposed the forestry operations in Nellim.

In Article 22, Paragraph 3 of the Finnish Reindeer Herding Act, it states that the Reindeer Herding Cooperative has the power to do this, but the law has never been interpreted in this way until now. This interpretation of the law enables one part of the Cooperative to wipe out the reindeer herding stocks of the other in cases of disagreement, which is the case in Nellim.

Last week the chair of the Reindeer Herders Association (Paliskuntain yhdistys) suggested on Sami Radio that the question is not about following the reindeer
herding act but settling the forestry dispute.

For More Information, Please Contact

Pauliina Feodoroff
President of the Sami Council
Cell 358 40 736 4475

See also: www.saamicouncil.net/?deptid=3753

NELLIMIN PAKKOTEURASTUKSET KUOLINISKU SAAMELAISPORONHOIDOLLE

Read Press Release in Finnish

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The Oslo Stock exchange noted that the multinational mining company International Gold Exploration has found gold and copper in Finnmark - specifically in Biedjovaggi, 40 km West of Kautokeino/ Guovdageaidnu. Their chief geologist Benny Mattson of their daughter company IGE Nordic stated that it was a major find. Biedjovaggi is the site of a old mine site from the 1950’s, and with the increasing commodity prices, there is a ‘klondike’ atmosphere in the mining industry in Finnmark, and IGE’s share price jumped in Week 39 on the news.

Olof Anders Kuhmunen  of the Saltfjellet reindeer husbandry district is concerned that planned mining activities in his reindeer husbandry area will reduce pastures and drive reindeer from the region. A lively debate has been continuing in the region’s media regarding the number of reindeer and the level of subsidies that reindeer herders receive. Nils Mathisen Gaup, a reindeer herder from West Finnmark stated that he has been calling on his colleagues to slaughter more reindeer for the last four years. The level of subsidies given to reindeer herders was highlighted in an article which stated that of the 217 reindeer husbandry districts in Finnmark, 172 were receiving subsidies.

Anders Isak Oskal of the Joahkonjárga reindeer herding district stated in an article that the governmental bodies responsible for reindeer husbandry were not listening to the suggestions of reindeer herders and their suggestions which would have alleviated the current situation regarding reindeer numbers in Finnmark. The price for reindeer meat continues to rise - from 6-10% this year. Nonetheless, a body responsible for marketing of meat in Norway is going to stop its advertisements for reindeer meat as they state that the meat is already very popular and in high demand, but there is not enough product in the market.

Finally, Johan Mikkel Sara, former vice President of the Sami Parliament in Norway is concerned about the impact on reindeer husbandry of the black smoke that is continuing to emanate from the StatoilHydro LNG plant in Hammerfest.

The EALAT team workshop on the tundra North of Yar Sale on the Yamal Peninsula caught the attention of the international media - CNN World Report will be featuring a story made by their Russian partners RBC which will be shown on the CNN Network this Saturday, October 13th. The feature will be part of the CNN World Report series which will available to TV viewers at the following times

Saturday (PROGRAM A), October 13, 2007:
04:30A GMT / 12:30P Hong Kong / 01:30A Buenos Aires / 14:30P Sydney / 00:30A EST 

Alternatively, you can watch the programme live on the internet at

http://cnn.com/video - Click on Live Video

(Map - BBC News) Russia is forging ahead with ambitious energy projects in eastern Siberia, but the indigenous Evenk people are complaining that their age-old way of life is in danger. Work has begun on a 4,130km (2,560-mile) oil pipeline - the longest pipeline in the world’s largest country…Nikolai Martynov, an ethnic Evenk, thought Russia’s natural resources would bring his people wealth. But he says thousands of reindeer have been “driven away by the building work for the pipeline and other projects and we have fewer and fewer”, as quoted in an article by the BBC Viktor Kuznetsov, executive director of the Association of Minority Peoples, has studied the impact of energy projects on the Evenk people and in the article is reporting as saying that since 2001, the number of reindeer in the Irkutsk region - on which the Evenk economy depends - has diminished by 10%.

Ever wondered what skills you need to be a reindeer herder? Now you can find out, thanks to a recent, and unusual job posting announced by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Inuvik, for the position of ‘Chief Reindeer Herder’,

to manage and control a free-range herd of reindeer on open tundra. The herder will be responsible for the surveillance, protection and migration direction of the herd. The candidate must coordinate and select animals appropriate for harvesting. The successful candidate will have a strong background in reindeer behavior, breeding and birthing and have the ability to control a semi-domestic herd of reindeer on open range; the knowledge of the dietary requirements for grazing; and experience harvesting and preparing wild meat for commercial production. This position requires lengthy periods in solitary with little daylight; safety and survival skills in adverse weather a must; knowledge and skills to work in winter conditions of at or below -40 c. This position is based in the field.

The official deadline has passed, but perhaps not for the right applicant!