Parliament’s animal protection group condemns the weekend hunting competition in Suomussalmi

A dachshund following a raccoon into the ground.
A dachshund going after a raccoon dog in the field. The raccoon dog is one of the species hunted in the Suomussalmi hunting competition, but the archive photo is not from the competition.

A hunting competition in Suomussalmi, Kainuu, has been the subject of much media and publicity.

In a statement published on Wednesday, the Parliament’s animal protection group says it opposes the organisation of a small carnivore hunting competition planned for the coming weekend in Suomussalmi. In the competition, teams will compete to see which team can kill the most small carnivores within a given time.

The Parliamentary Animal Welfare Group is a cross-party and informal network focusing on animal welfare issues.

The group calls for the organiser to withdraw the competition and for the next revision of the hunting law to consider whether such competitions should be banned by law.

According to the position of the animal protection group, killing animals should not be entertainment under any circumstances.