Landowners seminar 16.6.

2004
Hunting subjects
Finnish Hunters Central Organization
Executive vice president Jari Pigg

Hunting rights and the rights to hunt

The hunting rights in Finland belongs to the landowners. The hunting right includes the right to
practice hunting and the right to determine about it. The landowner can lease his hunting right in his
domain to another party or he can give his permission to hunting on his own conditions.
Hunting also contains certain common usufructs. People who live in the countys of Lappi and Oulu
have the right to hunt on stateowned land in their domicile. All Finnish citizens have the right to
hunt on common territorial waters on the sea.
On request of the agreement partners the lease contract is written and subscribed. The lease contract
can also be oral but it is not recommendable. The contract can be for a limited period or made for
the time being. Compensations are also decided in the contract, but private landowners don´t
usually take any financial compensations for their hunting rights. The tentant is not allowed to lease
his rights to a third part, not even partially. There is also reason to agree on traffic in the terrain,
firemaking, shootig of unprotected birdspieces, building of constructions and watching ower the
landowners rights. The tentant is usually a local huntingclub and the landowners most often are
members in these clubs. The clubs are commonly registrated associations but they can also be
huntinggroups.
Hunting is also allowed without hunting rights based on the ownership or lease of land. In this case,
the hunter must obtain a hunting permit from land owner or game tentant. Hunting permits are valid
for a short period and the fees are decided by the holder of hunting rights. Permits usually include a
game quota wich must not be exeeded.

About hunting practice

According to its definition hunting means catching and killing of a wild game animal and taking it
to posession. Hunting is also in trapping intensions the lureing, searching, circling, ambushing,
molestation and tracking of game animals and the useing of dogs or other trained animals to search,
chase and track the game.
Without permission it is not allowed to shoot an animal any nearer than 150 meters from a
inhabitated building. Its forbidden to search game animals from gardens and to walk on cultivated
land before harvest without permission of the landowner. Shooting an animal on a railway or
common road is also forbidden.

There is certain conditions set for hunting in the huntinglaw. Hunting must be practised sustainably
and in a way, that the gamepopulation is not endangered, nature is not unnecessarily disturbed and
the animals are not exposed to unnecessary suffering.
The continuity of the game animal populations should be safeguarded with appropriate preservation
of game and the hunting should not cause danger or damage to people or property. In the hunting
legislation too effective hunting device and methods are forbidden, as they would make hunting too
easy.
Damage caused by animals

The game and other animals can cause damage to the forest, cultivations, buildings and
constructions. The damage caused by game animals can be prohibited and reduced by methods of
hunting and by protecting the damage areas.
Some game species can be hunted outside the actual huntig season if they are causing considerable
damage to forests and cultivations. For this kind of hunting, a hunting licence, granted by the game
district is needed.
Deer cause damage to both farmland and forests. Especially big damage to forestry is caused during
the winter, when the moose gathers from large areas to their wintergrazing areas. The game districts
have to consider the gravity of damage when grantig hunting licenses. By directing and timing the
hunt, certain damage causing individuals can be hunted and in this way reduce damage during the
worst season. Private landowners are compensated for damage caused by deer according to
applications and damage evaluation. There is an 250 euro exess share on damages. The funds for
compensation comes from the hunting licences payed by the hunters. These payments are 100 euros
for a full-grown moose and 34 euros for a calf. For other deer the payments are 17 and 8 euros
respectively.