FACTFILE Use of food as bait prohibited
In recent years, the annual cull of bears has been between 68 and 100 animals.
There is a hunting quota in the areas of the country where reindeer husbandry is carried on, while in other districts where hunting is permitted, the licence is issued by the Game Management District or via an exceptional permit from the Ministry of Agiculture and Forestry.
Spring hunting was banned in 1993.
A female bear and her cubs born during the year are protected and may not be shot.
There are also strict limitations on where and how a bear can be hunted. It is not permitted to drive a bear from its den, nor can it be shot in the den, while eating carrion or some form of bait set by the hunters, and also not in a field that has not yet been harvested.
Dogs are used to track bears and keep them at bay until their master can come and despatch them. The Karelian Bear Dog is a famous Finnish breed, justly revered for its bravery and loyalty, but not a particularly easy pet to keep.
A gentleman's agreement has been worked out, at least in Southern Savo, that the hunters will not hunt bears that have been tagged with radio collars and which are under observation by wildlife researchers at the University of Helsinki.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 22.8.2007
More on this subject:
 Seventeen bears shot in first two days of hunting season
Links:
Karelian Bear Dog (Wikipedia)
Helsingin Sanomat
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