Rural Finland won’t be fully compensated for predator damage

A reindeer near the village of Vuollerim, in Finnish Lapland, in 2010. Every year, predators cause damage to property and livestock in Finland. (Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images)
Residents and farmers who’ve been approved to receive compensation for damage caused by predators will not receive the full amount this year, Finland’s Agency for Rural Affairs announced on Monday.

Every year predatory animals like bears, wolves, wolverines and lynxes damage millions of euros worth of property and livestock in Finland, prompting farmers who raise animals like reindeer and other claimants to apply for compensation.

Not enough funds

The compensation payments, which amount to some 7.3 million euros this year, will be reduced to 74 percent of the sums that were originally approved.

The agency says that there are not enough funds in state coffers to pay the original agreed-upon amounts, according to a press release issued Monday.

Decisions on compensation amounts are made by local rural business authorities.

The rural affairs agency said that this year’s payments will start to be made on 11 May, but said there could be payment delays of a few days due to banking traffic issues.

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: Indigenous groups prompt Canadian province to reconsider caribou designation, Eye on the Arctic

Finland: Spot a reindeer while driving? Tap the app! Yle News

Norway: Norway and Sweden in quarrel over cross-border reindeer grazing, The Independent Barents Observer

Russia: Russia plans fenced parks to confine reindeer herding in Arctic, The Independent Barents Observer

Sweden: Roads deadly for reindeer in Arctic Sweden, Radio Sweden

United States: Environmentalists sue over Alaska wildlife refuge road plan, Alaska Public Radio Network

Yle News

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