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(2004/C 78 E/0083)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2180/03

by Samuli Pohjamo (ELDR) and Mikko Pesälä (ELDR) to the Commission

(30 June 2003)

Subject:   Damage caused by predators in the Finnish reindeer range

Reindeer husbandry has long traditions in Finland. Reindeer husbandry and herding are not directly comparable to farming. Reindeer graze freely in a vast wilderness.

Predator populations have increased alarmingly as a result of the protection requirements laid down in the EU Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC (1)). Predators seek out areas where food is ready to hand, in other words the reindeer range. In particular, members of herding cooperatives close to the Russian border have lost huge numbers of reindeer in recent years. There is evidence that by 31 May of this year, predators had already killed 160 reindeer in the Suomussalmi area alone. In the Halla herding cooperative, wolves have caused the number of reindeer for slaughter to slump to a third of the normal level.

In most cases, the carcasses of reindeer killed by predators are never found in the vast wilds of the range. It is up to reindeer herdsmen to look for their animals and meet the costs incurred in so doing. A great deal of resources and valuable time are wasted in protecting reindeer from predators at the expense of reindeer husbandry proper, thus undermining its viability. In addition, the larger bear population has led to substantial losses of reindeer calves, a situation due in part to the fact that spring hunting privileges have been abolished.

Reindeer herdsmen are invoking Article 16(1), and in particular point (b) thereof, of the Habitats Directive. The reindeer are their property, and predators are inflicting serious specific damage. The expanded predator population threatens to wipe out the traditional livelihood of the EU's only aboriginal people, the Lapps. For the most part, the damage caused by predators affects the reindeer range, and that is therefore the area where the predator population should be reduced appreciably.

Do the Union and the Commission accept that the ever-increasing predator populations will destroy traditional reindeer herding in a sparsely populated region with little in the way of industry and commerce?

Can the national authorities issue licences by more flexible accelerated procedures in order to keep predator populations under control in the reindeer range and hence preserve the operating conditions required to make reindeer herding possible?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(30 July 2003)

Several large carnivores, such as wolf, brown bear and lynx, are protected by Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (2), Annex IV (a). These species are therefore subject to the strict protection scheme that requires, among others, that their deliberate killing is prohibited. Derogation from the protection regime in a case of serious damage to property may be granted under Article 16(1) which allows for the elimination of the damage-causing individuals.

According to official information from the Finnish authorities, the populations of bear and lynx are stable rather than expanding. The spring hunting of bear was discontinued well before Finland joined the Union, the reasons for this being national — a general unsustainability of the hunting and a considerable number of cub-nursing females being killed by hunters in the spring. The wolf densities in the reindeer herding area are far lower than elsewhere in Eastern Finland, because of its lower protection status there. There is no evidence to support the claim that the large carnivore populations are ever-increasing in the reindeer herding area.

Wolf populations in the reindeer herding area in Finland are exempted from Annex IV(a), but are listed in Annex V to the same Directive. This means that management measures may be used to control the population. Nevertheless, it is prohibited to use indiscriminate means of capture or killing that would lead to local disappearance or serious disturbance of populations (3). It lies within the competence of the national authorities to take the appropriate measures with due regard to the above. The Commission's task, in accordance with Article 211 of the EC Treaty, is to ensure that the protection of those species by Finland fulfils the requirements of the Directive.

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(1)OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

(2)OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(3)  Article 15 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC.

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