Sami Ruismäki and his reindeer gave a sleigh ride to some children on the upper level of a parking garage in downtown Rovaniemi. The reindeer park will be open until Epiphany. Photo: TIMO LINDHOLM, Source Helsingin Sanomat

Tourism has brought reindeer to the centre of Rovaniemi. Behind the project are Rovaniemen Kehitys Oy, a company promoting tourism in Rovaniemi, and local entrepreneurs, according to a report in Helsingin sanomat.

The Sirmakko family has set up a reindeer park in downtown Rovaniemi, on the upper deck of the parking garage adjacent to the City Hotel. Cars have been removed to the floor below.
”The reindeer will be kept in the reindeer parking garage until Epiphany. Depending on the day, the number of reindeer on the adventure level will be around six”, says entrepreneur Taina Riskilä.

”Entrepreneurs and tourists alike have long wished to see reindeer in the centre of the city”, claims coordinator Risto Saukkoriipi from Rovaniemen Kehitys.

”Today’s tourism is so hectic that not all visitors have time to go to the nearest reindeer farm ten kilometres away from Rovaniemi. They are happy if they have a chance to see some reindeer for example after having been to a restaurant. Tourists’ life is evening-oriented”, Saukkoriipi argues.
According to Adjunct Professor Mauri Nieminen, who works as a senior researcher at the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, the reindeer park marks a new nadir in reindeer herding degradation.
”A parking garage full of petrol fumes is not a natural environment for reindeer but is bound to cause suffering to those animals”, Nieminen charges.

The Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute has launched a study to find out how the increased feeding on farms and the constant proximity of human beings affect the disposition of reindeer.
”Farm reindeer are more domesticated. We suspect that if they are released into the wild they could more easily be hit by a car or be caught by predators”, Nieminen explains.

In the previous winter season, a total of 152,000 out of Finland’s approximately 200,000 reindeer were fed on farms or in the forest if necessary.

This being the season – it is worth revisiting this story on the Reindeer Portal that unpicks the story of Santa Claus, reindeer, and the appropriation of the cultural elements of Sami reindeer husbandry to service the needs of the tourist industry, most especially in Rovaniemi, Finland. Read the story here.

(Video Bruce Forbes) The Arctic Centre of Finland is Finland’s national arctic research centre. Researchers at the Arctic Centre have been carrying out research on the Yamal Peninsula with Nenets reindeer herders for many years primarily under the theme of Global Change and Land use change. Videos and Photos from this years field work on Yamal, led by Dr. Bruce Forbes can be see here

This will signal the first time that Yamal reindeer meat is imported to a country that already has a domestic reindeer meat industry.

Lapin Liha stated to the media that this was necessary as there was simply not enough reindeer meat supply in the market in Finland to meet their production goals of 40,000 reindeer per year. Currently they are processing around 24000 per year, 3000 of which come from Sweden.

Lapin Liha plan to import 200-250,000 kilos per year, all of which will come from the EU certified slaughterhouse in Yar-Sale, which was constructed by the Finnish company Kometos Oy.

Read the news release here on the Lapin Liha site.

Finland’s rare wild forest reindeer may be facing total extinction, says the Finnish Hunters` Association. The group is calling for Finland and the EU to jointly protect the wild reindeer by further regulating the population of large predators.

Both she and the reindeer herding sector face great challenges, writes the daily Lapin Kansa:

“The challenges are not insurmountable because a Finn never leaves a reindeer in the lurch. Lapland wouldn’t be Lapland without reindeers.

The reindeer herding sector will continue to be important for the economy of the north, which serves not only its own people but because of rising tourism also a growing number of customers.

For the future it is vital that reindeers and reindeer meat continue to enjoy an excellent reputation. In a world of green values it’s good to stress that reindeers which grow up surrounded by clean nature leave behind smaller ecological footprints than other ruminants.”

Source – Baltic Review

Various steps, such as spreading reindeer repellent on the roads, have been taken in an attempt to reduce the number of reindeer collisions. So far these measures have had little effect on the number of accidents.
“Today many motorists already have sat-nav devices in their cars, so harnessing this technology to warn about the reindeer might be an efficient method”, says executive manager Pertti Viik of the Reindeer Herders’ Association.
Nearly every satellite navigation device can be rigged to sound a beep to inform the driver of a police speed camera lurking by the side of the road. The thinking goes that in the same fashion, an intelligent device could warn about the presence of reindeer.

Unfortunately, unlike the cameras in their sheet metal boxes, the reindeer do not stay put.
“For this purpose the reindeer herders will notify on which road sections there are exceptionally large numbers of reindeer. For example in the spring the reindeer will not try to cross a river if the ice is too weak. At that time the animals easily resort to using roads and bridges instead”, Viik explains.
In the first phase, six of the country’s 56 reindeer herding cooperatives will take part in the experiment.
“The information will be collected by the cooperatives’ damage estimators, who then pass the information regarding the reindeer movements to Destia Traffic, responsible for maintaining the database. In the autumn it will be decided how long the individual reindeer warnings will continue to be transmitted to the navigators”, explains engineer Erkki Hulkko of the Finnish Road Administration’s Lapland Road Region.
Destia Traffic is the leading provider of commercial traffic information in the Nordic and Baltic countries.

The sums involved in reindeer accidents are not small: each year the reindeer cooperatives receive compensation of around EUR 1.5 million for livestock lost in this way. The average sum is around 700 euros, but for an animal that is used for racing, or in the tourism industry – for example pulling Santa’s sleigh – the figure can be as much as EUR 2,000. Compulsory vehicle insurance provides compensation for major vehicle damage or personal injuries.

The agreement furthermore terminates the process underway at the UN Human Rights Committee, as the Paadars will withdraw their petition to the committee.

The lawsuits, initiated in 2005, were based on the Paadars’ view that Metsähallitus’s actions within reindeer pastures were significantly weakening the profitability of reindeer herding dependent on free grazing in the Nellim area. According to the Paadars’ claim, continued logging would put an end to communal reindeer herding in Nellim. On these grounds, the Paadars demanded a court decision to prohibit logging in specified winter pastures in the Nellim area. The key issue at stake in the disagreement was the availability of sufficient winter pasture. Metsähallitus deemed the claims unfounded.

The Lappi District Court dismissed the Paadars’ motion more than a year ago, after which the Paadars took their case to the Rovaniemi Court of Appeal.

As the parties have now settled their disagreement and the court of appeal confirms this agreement, the dispute will be terminated in all courts of law.

According to the agreement, Metsähallitus will, for a 20-year period, refrain from logging operations in forests where no previous forestry operations have been carried out. Timber felling and other forest management operations may continue as normal in forests which have undergone previous forestry operations, as specified in greater detail in the agreement.

The agreement applies to standard forestry operations. Cutting of timber and land use referred to in the Skolt Sámi Act is not restricted, nor activities such as fishing, hunting or off-road traffic.

Both parties view the agreement as a significant result. “We are very pleased that this agreement was reached, making it possible to continue traditional reindeer herding in Nellim. Herding reindeer is a way of life for us, and we can now happily return to that,” comments Kalevi Paadar.

“This agreement allows Metsähallitus to work freely without disturbance and guarantees continued forestry operations also in the Nellim area, aside from the specified restrictions. This is a good compromise,” says Forestry Manager Pertti Heikkuri of Metsähallitus.

For further information, contact
Juha Mäkinen, Director of Communications, Metsähallitus, mobile: +358 40 570 9307
Pertti Heikkuri, Forestry Manager, Metsähallitus Upper Lapland, mobile: +358 400 296 613
Kirsi-Marja Korhonen, Regional Director, Metsähallitus, mobile: +358 400 300861

On behalf of the Paadars:
Johanna Ojala, attorney, mobile: +358 400 879711

The regional newspaper Lapin Kansa reported (Aug 1, 2008) that the herders had lost their case and were ordered to pay a total of 100,000 Euros in damages and court fees. The case revolved around a 27 ha area South of Lake Inari in the Ivalo Reindeer Herding District. The herders (who are Sami) did not have the support of the reindeer herding district of which they are a member. Metsahallitus claimed that they would lose 160,000 Euros annually were they not allowed log this area. Metsahalltus argued that they had no responsibility to guarantee the income of other users of the state forests and the court agreed.

(Summary in English: The Finnish Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture has decided to pay subsidies of 1 732 261 € to cover the damages – that haven’t been reimbused in full – caused by predators to reindeer husbandry during 1.1.2007 – 31.12.2007. The Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture couldn’t pay subsidies in whole last year since the claims for damages exceeded the budget allocated for 2007. The damages made up 2,55 million euro last year, and thus reached the highest level for 20 years.)

Metsästyslain (87 §) mukaan suurpetojen aiheuttamat porovahingot korvataan talousarvion rajoissa valtion varoista. Maa- ja metsätalousministeriö on viime vuosina maksanut korvauksia porovahingoista kahdesti vuodessa ja korvaukset on pyritty maksamaan täysimääräisinä. Petoeläinvahinkojen korvaamisesta annetun asetuksen mukaan täysimääräinen korvaus tarkoittaa poron käyvän arvon korvaamista kaksinkertaisena.

Pääsäännöstä poiketen ministeriö korvasi alkuvuoden porovahingot poikkeuksellisesti yksinkertaisena, koska TE-keskuksien ilmoittamat porovahingot olivat kyseessä olevalta kaudelta odotettua huomattavasti suuremmat, joten määrärahojen riittävyydestä ei ollut varmuutta. Oikein kohdennettujen suurpetopoliittisten linjausten ja toimenpiteiden johdosta maa- ja metsätalousministeriön on nyt mahdollista maksaa vahingonkorvaukset täysimääräisenä kaikille vahingonkärsijöille.

Poronhoitoalueen TE-keskusten yhteenvetojen mukaan maasuurpetojen aiheuttamat porovahingot olivat 2007 alkuvuonna 1 650 489 euroa ja loppuvuonna 907 034 eli yhteensä yli 2,55 miljoonaa euroa. Koko vuoden osalta korvauksia haettiin kaikkiaan 4090 porosta, joka on 752 poroa enemmän kuin edellisenä vuotena.

Viime vuoden porovahingot olivat suurimmat viimeiseen 20 vuoteen tilastoidut. Vuoden 2006 porovahingot olivat 2,1 miljoonaa euroa ja vuoden 2005 vahingot 1,75 miljoonaa euroa. Vahinkojen määrä on siten kasvanut yli 20 prosenttia vuodesta 2006 ja lähes 50 prosenttia verrattuna vuoteen 2005. Viime vuonna suurpedoista ahmojen tappamiksi kirjattiin1794 poroa. Karhut puolestaan tappoivat 828 poroa, sudet 1001 poroa ja ilvekset 467 poroa.

Lisätietoja maa- ja metsätalousministeriöstä:
ylitarkastaja Jussi Laanikari, puh. (09) 160 52283, 040 733 6229

21.4.2008

http://www.te-keskus.fi/Public/?nodeid=10597&ContentList=News&area=7543

However the amount of kills by wolverines also climbed steeply even though the number of these medium-sized predators has actually declined. There are only about 120 wolverines in the country, mostly in the north and east. The ministry is looking into why the number of wolverine kills has jumped. (Story/ Pic Source YLE News 21.04.2008)