Hunting and Game Management

Hunting and Game Management

An overview of hunting and game management in Enontekio and Finland — sustainable licences from Metsahallitus, willow grouse trapping rights and strict regulations.

Metsahallitus cares for state-owned lands and waters, with hunting services staff planning hunting, fishing and snowmobiling sustainably. Its licences are an investment in nature, as the income from selling them is used to benefit nature.

  • Metsahallitus manages hunting sustainably on state-owned lands
  • Locals in Enontekio, Inari and Utsjoki may trap Willow Grouse
  • Poyrisjarvi Wilderness needs permit 1615 (Nakkala) or 1616 (Nunnanen)
  • Use of hounds is forbidden to protect reindeer husbandry
  • Willow grouse and ptarmigan protected 1 April - 9 September in the far north

Hunting in Enontekio

Permanent residents of Enontekio, Inari and Utsjoki may hunt on state-owned lands in their municipality. Locals may also trap the Willow Grouse (Lagopus lagopus), an important source of income for many Enontekio families.

To hunt in the Poyrisjarvi Wilderness Area you must buy permit 1615 Nakkala or permit 1616 Nunnanen. Local game includes Willow Grouse, hare and water birds. A limited number of small-game permits are sold a day at a time, allowing non-locals to hunt. Because reindeer husbandry is an important livelihood, the use of hounds is strictly forbidden even with a permit. Permits are sold by Skierri (the Fell-Lapland Nature Centre) and local tourist and activity enterprises.

Regulation of hunting

Finnish hunting legislation is founded on sustainable development. The size and trends of game populations are taken into account in regulating hunting under the Hunting Act and Hunting Decree.

Restrictions on hunting methods limit new technical means that do not belong to hunting and preserve both game populations and the traditional character of hunting. Prohibited means include explosives, poisons, electrical devices, artificial light, automatic weapons and killing traps that do not kill immediately. Game may not be chased from an aircraft or land motor vehicle.

Closed seasons and licences

If the preservation of a game population requires it, the game must be declared a protected species for a specified period. For example, willow grouse and ptarmigan in the municipalities of Enontekio, Inari and Utsjoki are protected from 1 April to 9 September. Wolf outside the reindeer herding areas, bear, otter, wolverine, lynx and harbour seal are always protected.

A hunting licence must be obtained for moose, fallow deer, red deer, sika deer, wild forest reindeer and white-tailed deer. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is the supreme authority in hunting and game management, responsible for hunting legislation and the maximum limits for hunting certain game animals.

Game population management plans

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry draws up national management plans for several game species including wild forest reindeer, wolf, bear, lynx, wolverine and seals. The first, the Management Plan for the Wolf Population in Finland, was published on 28 December 2005. The plans aim to maintain populations at a favourable conservation status while addressing regional differences, the impacts on local people, and the views of local residents — prepared transparently with broad citizen participation.