It is high time to consider transferring species in need of protection from the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to the Ministry of the Environment.
Finland an alarming structural flaw has been revealed in the management of large carnivores. It especially applies to those species that are in need of exceptional protection according to the EU Habitats Directive.
The quotas set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry give the Finnish Game Center the authority to issue exemption permits for population management hunting of large carnivores every year, even though the species in question are subject to protection.
The stock management permits given to hunters offer the opportunity to catch and get a trophy. Permits that conflict with the need for protection are therefore issued in the name of trophy hunting.
Most recently, on February 21, the Administrative Court of Turku decided that the exception permits for lynx management granted to the Varsinais-Suomen and Satakunta area were against the law.
Damage-based exemptions or police measures regarding harmful animals do not satisfy hunters' needs in the same way.
Some hunters also use these permits to train dogs to hunt big game, which increases the demand for problematic permits.
The authorities have not dealt with the problem properly. Only complaints made by citizens and complaints made to the EU have made the authorities react.
Even though the courts have issued decisions regarding the illegality of the permits, the officials continue in their duties without sanctions. This raises serious questions about the functioning of the rule of law and the responsibility of the authorities.
It is unreasonable that a marginal group of hunters is allowed to act illegally in the name of trophy hunting, while at the same time the protection of large game is endangered.
It is high time to consider transferring protected directive species from the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to the Ministry of the Environment. It would promote a balanced approach to large game, where their protection is placed before hunting interests.
Carina Lintula
chairman, Help for Animals – Without Borders association
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