According to an estimate of wolf population published by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) today, on 18 June 2024, the number of packs of wolves living entirely within Finland’s borders has increased by approximately 11%. According to the most likely estimate, there are 59–64 wolf territories, of which 44 have litters and 17 are pairs.

“According to the Finnish Hunters’ Association, even the reported population would allow for the hunting of wolves to manage the population the same way as in Sweden, even if there are uncertainties related to the population estimate,” says Jaakko Silpola, Executive Director of the Finnish Hunters’ Association.

According to Luke, there were 277–321 wolves in Finland in March 2024. When the estimate was made in late winter, the wolf population was at its lowest of the year before the new puppies were born in the spring. The Finnish Hunters’ Association urges to better consider the seasonal fluctuations when talking about the size of the wolf population. According to the wolf population forecast model included in Luke’s population estimate, the number of wolves was 395–560 with a 90% probability at the end of May 2024 when new litters were born.

In Sweden, the favourable conservation status target is 300 wolves, including puppies that are born in the spring. You can hunt the number of wolves that exceed the limit there. Regular hunting could help maintain the wolves’ fear of humans in Finland too, so that we could reduce their numerous visits to the immediate vicinity of people’s homes or the number of hunting dogs mauled by wolves. An expert group appointed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is currently working on allowing the hunting of predators to control population, for example.

Population trends have been dubious in the recent years

The Finnish Hunters’ Association finds it odd how, based on the estimates, the wolf population has been almost unchanged for three years. The wolf population grew by one third from 2020 to 2021, that is, from around 230 to 300 wolves, and there has been no growth since. According to studies, the wolf population can grow by up to 30% annually, if the conditions are good and there is no hunting. Observations reported over the past few years also suggest that the wolf population has strengthened. Wolves have been found in new areas, and it has become common to see a wolf in the vicinity of your home in areas of established wolf territories.

In winter 2020–2021, hunters became more active in monitoring and DNA sampling. Nearly 80% more samples identified as those of wolves were collected than in the previous winter. Due to the active sample collection and wolf monitoring, the number of wolves grew by a third in the population estimate of 2021, contrary to Luke’s forecast. Since then, the situation has not changed.

“Local observations reflect distrust of the population estimate. For example, three packs with litters and also one territory of a pair of wolves have been observed in the Salo region this spring. Instead of these four territories, the population estimate indicates one territory in the area. Another example is North Karelia, where the Tohmajärvi region should have two border packs in accordance with the population estimate. Based on local observations, there are also two other packs that are entirely within Finland’s borders and not included in the population estimate,” Silpola says.

The uncertainty of population estimates was also discussed at the end of May when Luke published its estimate of the lynx population. It showed that the population was unchanged, even if the lynx was not hunted. The lynx population estimate found that the activity to make observations had deteriorated so that the estimate was insufficient.

Incentives for producing observational data for the population estimate

We must improve the coverage of DNA sampling for wolves. By targeting and increasing the collection of DNA samples and the number of samples, we could verify whether a territory has a pair of wolves or a pack with a litter. Despite the unavoidable general government budget cuts, the Finnish Hunters’ Association considers it important that the resources for predator research are kept sufficiently large to improve the quality and reliability of population estimates, making them credible. DNA sampling also plays a key role in determining wolfdogs. DNA analyses show that even the west coast of Finland had wolfdogs in the 2023–2024, which is a serious indication of the significant spread of the invasive alien species in question.

Volunteers collect a significant proportion of wolf DNA samples. The Finnish Hunters’ Association has proposed that there should be compensation of 75–100 euros for the DNA samples to cover the costs of the collection work, such as significant fuel costs. In remote areas, forest tracks are not cleared off snow during the winter, and the collection areas are difficult to reach, which probably reflected in the decline in the number of observations of wolves after the turn of 2024. Sample collectors drive up to thousands of kilometres during the season. Compensation as incentive for the collection of samples would probably help discover more pairs of wolves and packs with litters for the population estimate.

At the Finnish Hunter's Association exhibition stand, the activities of the association and our member benefits were extensively presented. Our organization's theme for 2024 is safety, which was reflected in the booth in many ways.

On the program stage, the association's own experts and guest stars talked about current topics and familiarized fair visitors with the secrets of hunting and game handling.

Read more: www.eramessut.fi/en

The International Sportsmen’s Fair is the biggest fair organised in this industry in Finland. The Sportsmen’s Fair has been organised in Riihimäki since 1972. The fair will be organised for the 25th  time in Riihimäki Sports Park on 7th to 9th of June 2024. The leafy Sports Park is a handy and pleasant location for the fair. Hunting, fishing, trekking and nature enthusiasts and professionals get a chance to explore the commercial services and products available and meet with the experts of the various national organisations operating in the field.

See you in 2026 in Riihimäki!

“The change in EU policy shows that the management-based hunting of large carnivores is important for maintaining large carnivore populations in a socially and economically sustainable manner, while ensuring the protection of large carnivores. The Finnish Hunters' Association and the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE) have long called for a change to the protection status of the wolf. The Commission has finally gotten the message after years of work,” says Tuomas Hallenberg, Chairman of the Finnish Hunters' Association.

Finland must define a favourable conservation status for wolves at national level so that hunting of wolves can be ensured under the current and potentially changing protection classification conditions.

“The Commission's proposal to the Bern Convention’s Standing Committee and the subsequent amendment to the EU Habitats Directive will take at least two years. The next meeting of the Bern Convention's Standing Committee will only be held a year from December 2024 and only then will be it be able to discuss the downward adjustment in the protection status of wolves. After this, an annex must still be added to the Habitats Directive. The fastest action the Commission  could now take would be to amend the Habitats Directive's application guideline in line with today's statement,” states Hallenberg.

National action needed

The Finnish Hunters' Association notes that the Commission's policy change only concerns wolves. No change has been proposed to the protection status of the bear and lynx.

“The Finnish Hunters' Association’s view is that Finland should amend legislation on large carnivores and administration should be developed so that local social and economic perspectives are taken into account in issuing of hunting permits for large carnivores and in legal proceedings. The President of the Supreme Administrative Court, Kuusiniemi, also spoke about taking locality into account earlier in December.

Today's press release from the Commission on the wolf reminded us that Member States should make use of the derogations in the Habitats Directive. The proposal to change the protection status of wolves is an important change in EU policy and its significance is underlined by the fact that President of the European Commission von der Leyen, Environment Commissioner Sinkevičiusja and Agriculture Commissioner Wojciechowski all signed the press release.

Since the beginning of April, two live cameras have been broadcasting online footage from the outside of the nest tube and from the inside of the tube.  The broadcast is still ongoing and can be followed until end of July.

This video compilation shows the key tube nesting events. In mid-April, when the wetland was still frozen, the hen visited the tube for the first time. Laying began soon after. Hatching began in early May and 11 chicks hatched on May 26. The dammed wetland shown in the video was established by a private landowner. Plenty of nest boxes and tube nests have been installed on the site. The final number of wildfowl nests will be known later this summer, but in the 2022 season there were 7 successful nests in the tubes. The wetland is part of the target network of the SOTKA resting area project and serves as both a high-quality duckling production area and an undisturbed resting area in the autumn.

One of the cameras is outside the nest tube and the other is filming inside the tube. The nest tube is currently (21.4.2023) undergoing a laying phase, which lasts about two weeks.

According to observations, the hen visits the nest in the early hours of the morning.The live service monitors the life of birds in the wetland for three months.

Welcome to follow the nesting >>

According to the study, the tone of the publicity concerning the Finnish Hunters’ Association was primarily neutral (89%). One in ten stories or news articles was positive, with very little negative visibility (1%). The topics that were particularly positive for the Association’s public image were the advancement of the invasive alien predators project, the Association's youth work, events and training activities, its promotion of responsible hunting, and the Ministry's recognition of the good work done by the Association. The negative coverage focused on the Association’s lobbying activities, for example in the debate concerning the Finnish wolf population, and its role in large carnivore permits. The public image of the Finnish Hunters’ Association was analysed on the basis of 872 news articles published by Finnish editorial media.

The public image of hunting was considerably more polarising than that of the Association itself – however, even in this case, the positive coverage (17%) outnumbered the negative (8%). When it comes to the public image of hunting, the authorities represented its most-discussed actors, dominating more than a third of all relevant news items, with particular focus being placed on the Finnish Wildlife Agency, Metsähallitus, the Supreme Administrative Court, and the police.

The analysis focused on Finnish editorial media, i.e. online articles, print media, and key TV and radio programming. Its dataset included all media news items that referenced the Finnish Hunters’ Association or hunting, with an emphasis on key themes such as hunting accidents, population control-related hunting, the ban on lead, and wolves.

The most reporting on hunting was done by Finland’s national public broadcasting company Yle (279 stories in 2022) as well as by the newspapers Maaseudun Tulevaisuus (228), Lapin Kansa (226) and Helsingin Sanomat (221). The analysis also included hundreds of articles from other regional newspapers. The analysis of the public image of hunting was carried out by Retriever for the Finnish Hunters' Association.

It is feared that the disease will spread to Finland, for example with pork products that people bring in, animal transportation equipment or wild boars.

Should the disease spread to Finland, it would cause large economic losses for pig farms and the meat industry due to the destruction of animals, cleaning and disinfection of premises and interruption of international trade. African swine fever does not infect humans and it has never been found in Finland.

The virus responsible for the disease survives well in the environment and is highly contagious. The disease has been spread, for example by pig transport, using feed containing the virus to pigs, and by wild boars.Spreading is also possible through the animal or with equipments contaminated by the virus.

A couple of thousand hunters from abroad visit Finland every year. In particular, hunting for white-tailed deer, moose and grouse attracts hunters to Finland.

Getting a hunting card

“Foreign citizens can get a Finnish hunting card for one season at a time, if they have the right to hunt in their own country. Similarly, a certificate of equivalence for a shooting test can be obtained if the person has the right to hunt ‘similar-sized game’ in their own country”, says Paula Laukkanen, Executive Director of the Helsinki Game Management Association.

“Both the hunting card and the certificate of equivalence for a shooting test cost the same for a foreigner as for a Finn.”

The application for a hunting card is addressed to the executive director of the relevant game management association, whose contact details can be found on the Riista.fi website. 

“The application must be accompanied by a copy of the hunting card, or equivalent proof of the person’s right to hunt in their own country, as well as an account of citizenship.

If a certificate of equivalence for a shooting test is required, a certificate of a shooting test and/or proof of the right to hunt ‘similar-sized game’ in the person’s own country is also attached.”

Other permits and certificates

A foreign hunter must also have a hunting permit for a particular area. Hunting permits are sold or issued by hunting rights holders, such as landowners, hunting associations and, on state-owned land, Metsähallitus.

The shooting test certificate can be obtained at the same time as the order is placed for a Finnish hunting card.

The executive director of a game management association is given a valid certificate of a shooting test approved in another country, including the necessary translations, or proof of the guest’s right to hunt game animals of similar size in their own country.

A hunter who does not have a shooting test certificate, or is unable to provide acceptable documentation, must take a Finnish shooting test in accordance with the regulations in force.

Shooting tests are organized by game management associations, especially in summer and early autumn.

INFO

Foreign citizens are allowed to hunt if they have the following permits and documents:

• a Finnish hunting card
• a hunting right or a hunting permit granted by the landowner or a holder of hunting right
• the right to possess a firearm
Attention must be paid to hunting periods and, in the case of certain game animals, also to the hunting licence or exemption.

The brochure Hunting in Finland is available in various languages under the link https://riista.fi/julkaisut/esitteet/

Statistics show that in the first half of the 2000s, 20–40 dogs were lost to large carnivores each year. Roughly half of the incidents where wolves hurt or killed dogs happened in hunting situations and the other were incidents where a wolf snatched a dog from its home yard.

Damages caused to agriculture and forestry are compensated for from State funds within the limits of the State budget, in accordance with the Game Animal Damages Act.

If the dog killed by a large carnivore, the owner may seek compensation from the state. The dog's insured value is determined by its acquisition price as a puppy and factors that might add to the value, such as training, different character and health tests and dog show results.

The damage must be notified without delay to enable the assessment of the damage and other measures required by the matter.

Do you want a future for hunting?

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Bird hunting, habitat for game, large carnivore management, Europe’s hunting cultures, and our incentives to conserve nature are at risk from problematic policy-making.

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