High-speed train kills 54 reindeer in Arctic Sweden

Tor Erik Huuva near the accident location. (Anne Marit Päiviö/Sameradion & SVT Sápmi)
Tor Erik Huuva near the accident location. (Anne Marit Päiviö/Sameradion & SVT Sápmi)
A high-speed train killed 54 reindeer belonging to the Laevas Sami association on Thursday near Kiruna, in northern Sweden.

The news of the accident hit the Sami community hard, Swedish Radio News reports.

“It’s a tragedy for the association,” says Tor Erik Huuva, a member of the Sami collective.

“We’ve been asking for a wildlife crossing for ages, but the Swedish Transport Administration has done nothing about it.”

Reindeer accidents are infrequent in the summer, but this year the animals have delayed their migration to the west due to the cold winter and a delayed spring.

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: Nunavut Canada community revives eiderdown business, Eye on the Arctic

Finland: Up to 500 reindeer killed annually by trains – no fences planned, Yle News

Greenland:  Greenland sled dogs share DNA with today’s canine companions, Radio Sweden

Norway:  Norway’s radioactive reindeer, Barents Observer

Russia:  Service reindeer for police in Russia’s Arctic, Barents Observer

Sweden: Bear hunt quota worries reindeer herders in Sweden’s Arctic, Radio Sweden

United States: Alaska community gets into reindeer meat market, Alaska Dispatch News

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