Finnmark introduces strict regulations on grouse hunting
Grouse population in Finnmark is estimated to be only one-third of last year’s.
Finnmarkseiendommen, the landowner that administrates 95 percent of the land and natural resources in Norway’s northernmost county, says the population is too low for free hunting.
Small game hunting starts on September 10th, but will be no match for last year’s very good hunting season in northern Norway.
Counting shows that there are far fewer grouse chickens in Finnmark this year. On average, there are six grouses per square kilometres compared with 18 last year. Despite large variations throughout Finnmark, restrictions on hunting are introduced for the entire county.
Each hunter can only shot two willow grouses and two mountain grouses per day, according to the regulations. Exceptions are made for Kautokeino and Karasjok, the two largest municipalities in inner-Finnmark, where three of each are allowed per day. In the Pasvik valley, close to the border to Russia, only one grouse can be shot per day.
Hunters are asked to shot the chickens, since they have a lower survival rate during the winter than adult birds.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Enough M’Clintock Channel polar bears to increase hunting quota?, Radio Canada International
Finland: Heritage hunting in Finnish forests, Yle News
Iceland: Feature Interview – Hunting culture under stress in Arctic, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Good grouse hunting season in Arctic Norway, The Independent Barents Observer
United States: New rules proposed for Alaska predator hunting, Alaska Public Radio Network
