Farmers worried about tourists looking for Northern Lights – fields trampled and littered

A woman photographs the northern lights with a smartphone. — Seeing the Northern Lights is a dream for many tourists, but you can’t go out into the fields to see them without permission. The photo shows Singaporean Crystal Fock photographing the Northern Lights in Rovaniemi.

Tourists seeking to experience the Northern Lights cause damage to farms and, in the worst case, threaten the lives of farm animals. The phenomenon has worsened in Lapland this winter.

Puikko says he is in favour of tourism, but wants to highlight the injustices caused by aurora borealis hikers. For example, people come to watch the northern lights in his fields, even though every court does not give permission.

After tourists, fields are trampled by areas where crops will not grow – at least not properly – the following summer. In the compacted snow, the soil freezes deeper and destroys the most sensitive crops. All the more weeds then grow in the field.

Littering by tourists also harms agriculture. The worst affected animals can be farm animals, which can die from aluminium cans or metal sludge in their feed.

In addition, according to Puiko, a local tourism company parks its cars on the side of a dark and narrow road when its guides bring tourists to watch the northern lights. It has caused dangerous situations for local farmers who transport, for example, hay bales on the road.

Cooperation could help direct tourists to safer places

Mervi Puikko says that he tried to call the tourism company about it, but he has not received an answer.

According to Puiko, tourism is a good thing in itself, and the sky filled with northern lights is very beautiful to look at in a country landscape without light pollution. However, you have to ask for permission to move around in the fields, and you should get compensation from the tourism company for any damages.

If asked, the farmer could also guide aurora borealis tourists to areas that are not in production use, in which case no damage to the plant can occur. In addition, he could also help with littering and traffic safety issues.

MTK worried about the harm of Northern Lights tourism

The Confederation of Agricultural and Forestry Producers, MTK, has also publicly expressed its concerns about the negative effects of growing Northern Lights tourism.

Everyone’s rights do not allow movement in courtyards, plantations, cultivated fields or other areas reserved for special use.

According to MTK, this means that the use of fields and parking must be agreed with the landowner. In addition, tourists or tourism companies must take care of waste collection and disposal.