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Finnish reindeer farms, which used to earn significant income from reindeer sled tourism during the Christmas season, are now on high alert due to wolf attacks. As the war in Ukraine drags on, many Russian hunters who used to control the wolf population have been drafted, causing a surge in wolf numbers that are now threatening Finland. The Finnish government is urgently recruiting hunters to tackle the wolf problem, but many believe that a fundamental solution will be difficult to achieve until the war in Ukraine ends.

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According to CNN on December 22 (local time), Finnish reindeer farms are suffering from wolf attacks, making it difficult to operate reindeer sled tourism during the Christmas season. Finland's Lapland region, especially the city of Rovaniemi, is known as the home of Santa Claus and is famous for its Santa Village and reindeer sled tours every Christmas season.

According to statistics from the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, there have been 2,009 wolf attacks on reindeer in Finland this year, a 75% increase compared to 1,143 cases last year. Due to the frequent wolf attacks, reindeer farmers are concerned about a decline in the reindeer population. It takes two years for a reindeer to reach maturity, and each female typically gives birth to only one calf per year, so if the population drops significantly, it will take a long time to recover.

Affected Farms: "One Reindeer Dies Every Day"

A reindeer farm operator in the Lapland region of Finland told CNN, "This year, one reindeer is dying every day due to wolf attacks. We are concerned about the worst Christmas season." He added, "Each reindeer death causes a loss of 1,572 euros (about 2.74 million won), but the wolf damage is so severe on every farm that it is difficult to apply for compensation from the government."

The main reason for the increased wolf attacks on reindeer is the war in Ukraine. As many wolf hunters from western Russia and Siberia have been drafted, the number of wolves crossing into Finland has risen sharply.

According to the Finnish Natural Resources Institute, an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the wolf population in Finland reached 430 this year, a 45.76% increase from 295 last year. The institute analyzed wolf scat samples collected in Finland over the past ten years and found a large amount of DNA not previously seen in Finland, with a significant portion believed to be from wolves that crossed the border from Russia.

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Blackbird Group, a Finland-based military research organization, stated in a recent report that the number of Russian men enlisting in border areas such as Murmansk, which faces Finland, has increased significantly, leading to a decrease in wolf hunters. John Helin, an information expert at Blackbird Group, said, "Since last year, many men from the Finnish border region and Siberia have enlisted in the Russian military, apparently attracted by financial incentives from the Russian government, which has also significantly reduced the unemployment rate in those areas." He added, "As many local men who used to work in hunting and forestry have joined the military, the wolf population has increased."

Finland Allows Limited Wolf Hunting

The Finnish government is also struggling to come up with measures. As of last month, the policy was changed to allow limited wolf hunting. Wolf hunting is permitted for professional hunters who have received special hunting permits and local livestock farmers. Until now, wolves in Finland have been classified as an endangered species and hunting has been prohibited.

However, since the wolf population is rising rapidly, it is expected that efforts to control wolves will face significant challenges until the war in Ukraine ends. Katja Holmala, a researcher at the Finnish Natural Resources Institute, told CNN, "Before the war in Ukraine, the Russian government offered large bounties for wolf hunting, to the extent that wolves were almost designated as an endangered species due to excessive hunting." She continued, "Now, the situation is the exact opposite, and since hunting has been banned in Finland for a long time, there are hardly any hunters left, making it difficult to respond effectively."