A controversial announcement by the Saarivuoma Sami village in Kiruna has ignited a heated debate over hunting rights. The village declared its intention to hunt across its entire reindeer herding area, regardless of land ownership, provoking strong reactions from local landowners. The issue highlights ongoing tensions over overlapping hunting rights and raises safety concerns.
Controversy Erupts Over Hunting Rights in Kiruna: 'Disrespectful' Announcement Sparks Debate
Controversy Erupts Over Hunting Rights in Kiruna: 'Disrespectful' Announcement Sparks Debate
In Kiruna's advertisement paper, the Saarivuoma Sami village announced that their hunters will hunt across the entire village's reindeer herding area, regardless of land ownership. The announcement has sparked intense emotions.
"It's very provocative," says Jan-Ola Johansson, chairman of the Soppero village community association.
An advertisement in Kiruna's paper has reignited the debate over dual hunting rights where Sami villages' reindeer herding areas overlap with landowners'.
The sender is the Saarivuoma Sami village and the ad reads:
"It is announced that Sárevuopmi's hunters will hunt within all of Sárevuopmi's lands where we have hunting rights, regardless of landowner. This also applies below the cultivation boundary. Announced only in this way. The board of Sárevuopmi."
"Firstly, it's very provocative to do this because what we have is a licensed area here in Soppero village's community lands," says Jan-Ola Johansson, who hunts moose on the lands when Expressen speaks with him.
"It's completely disrespectful, I would say."
Expressen seeks Nils Ola Sikku, chairman of the Saarivuoma Sami village.
The Soppero village community association has 18,000 hectares of land where members conduct hunting. Of these, about 10,000 are within the Sami village's reindeer herding area, reports NSD.
'Reprehensible from a Safety Perspective'
The community association sent a submission to the county administrative board at the end of August, stating: "It should be obvious to everyone that it is completely reprehensible from a safety perspective to conduct moose hunting when participants do not know if there are unknown hunters moving in the area."
"We keep track of our hunting teams, communicate, and know where everyone is. But then there's a risk that someone not belonging to the hunting teams just shows up, and we don't know where, how, or when," says Jan-Ola Johansson.
Previously, the county administrative board required that members of Sami villages report their presence to local hunting teams in areas with dual hunting rights.
"They have never done that," says Jan-Ola Johansson.
Eight Sami villages appealed the reporting requirement but were rejected by the administrative court in Luleå in the fall of 2020, reports NSD.