Reindeer Blog

(Pic. Helsingin Sanomat) Three Sami reindeer herders from Nellim, in Northern FInland have just lost their case against the Finnish state forestry giant Metsahallitus in the Lapland District Court. The reindeer herders argued that the logging practices of Metsahallitus was destroying reindeer pastures - ground lichen and hanging tree lichen and were not only threatening their livelihood as reindeer herders, but also their ability to practice Sami reindeer husbandry and maintain their Sami culture. Read the rest of this entry »

(Pic-Philip Burgess). With the coming of summer and the migration of reindeer from Finnmarks’s interior to the coast, the local media has lately been filled with stories about the reinplagen. This translates as ‘reindeer plague’, a disease which sounds deadly, but so far, only reindeer have died as a result. It relates to reindeer grazing in urban and agricultural areas where they are not welcome by farmers or some residents. The epicentre of this ‘reinplagen’ seems to be Alta and Hammerfest. Both have been in the media extensively this last two weeks.

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