Two hunting associations say they will no longer help police in disposing of injured animals, citing a breakdown of trust with law enforcement and the high cost involved in disposing of carcasses.
The so-called executive assistance in large game matters, or SRVA contracts allow hunting associations to provide assistance to the police in disposing of injured animals. Police are reliant on these contracts in dealing with injured animals that must be euthanised.
Kiuruvesi hunting association handed in their contract termination letter in March and after a three-month notice period, the contract has now come to an end.
The situation could be seen as a strike, the association's operations manager Risto Juntunen told Yle. He says that the association is not interested in who takes over the assistance duties going forward.
”It could be a neighbourhood club or the local Martha organisation [Finnish women's organisation providing advice on domestic chores]. It's none of our business,” Juntunen commented.
The Kiuruvesi hunting association's departure from providing SRVA services can be linked to an incident six years ago. Juntunen and a fellow hunter had been requested by the police to attend a local house to dispose of a number of stray cats that roamed around the house. The hunters shot the cats with .22-calibre weapons as part of the assistance requested by the police.
The SRVA contract obliges the hunters to comply with the Finnish Animal Welfare Act when attending police calls. It was found that in Kiuruvesi, some of the cats were not killed in the manner required by law - by being captured and shot in the head. At least one cat was shot under a car, another on the side of a barn, and a third in the barn loft while they were still running free.
In February this year, the district court of Pohjois Savo fined the two hunters for animal cruelty. According to Juntunen, the case led to a breakdown in trust between the hunters and the police. He says they now want better legal protection.
”At the very least, they [the police] should pay the court bills if this happens,” Juntunen said.
Assistance contract also terminated in Espoo
In Southern Finland, the Espoo-Kauniainen hunting association has also terminated their SRVA contract, albeit for a different reason than in Kiuruvesi.
The association helps the police with numerous road kills, which cannot be disposed of easily or cheaply anymore, the operational director Fredrik Eklundh explained to Yle.
Previously, the association would have delivered the animals killed in road accidents to Ämmänsuo landfill, where they were buried to the ground. Now the carcasses need to be taken to be cremated, which costs over a 100 euros per animal - something the association cannot afford.
”Last year there were 176 carcasses to be cremated,” Eklundh said.
The SRVA contract between the Espoo-Kauniainen hunting association and the police is expected to expire on 13 July. However, negotiations with the city of Espoo about a suitable and free carcass burial place are currently ongoing, according to Eklundh.
Ending police cooperation is exceptional, but not unheard of
Two hunting associations withdrawing from SRVA contracts is not unheard of, although it is rare. A somewhat similar situation happened in Lieksa in 2018 , when the local hunting association refused to renew an SRVA contract with the police.
According to the Detective Inspector Harri-Pekka Pohjolainen, who is responsible for SRVA in eastern Finland, the reluctance to renew the contract in Lieksa was a protest against big-game policy. When the people in charge changed, cooperation with the police also returned to normal, Pohjolainen said.
In Kiuruvesi, the police have made an agreement with neighbouring hunting associations on taking over the SRVA contract if need be.
The Detective Inspector admits that the police are completely dependent on the hunting associations when it comes to tracking deer and large animals injured in traffic accidents - and if the withdrawal from contracts becomes widespread, it could have a significant impact.
”We simply don't have the know-how or equipment, or the time to go and track the animals,” Pohjolainen commented.