The Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Forestry also supports the management of wolves, considers the protection of the Saimaa ringed seal to be already sufficient and is not about to ban the hunting of endangered waterfowl.
The Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, which gave its opinion on four citizens’ initiatives on animals, did not agree much on three of them. All the opinions also included an objection.
With regard to wolf hunting, the committee considers that population management hunting is one part of an effective and comprehensive range of measures to protect the wolf and limit the damage it causes.
The Committee proposes that the Government prepare legislation to clarify the provisions of the Hunting Act, which would allow wolf hunting on the basis of an exemption permit.
White-fronted geese roast with a derogation
The white-fronted goose is included in the specially protected species of the EU Birds Directive. In addition, the species is under special protection according to the European Convention on the Protection of Wild Flora and Fauna and their Habitats. The white-fronted goose cannot therefore be changed into a huntable species by a national decision, the committee states.
Current legislation, however, allows white-cheeked geese to be expelled by shooting with exemption permits according to the Nature Conservation Act. The committee proposes that the shot white-cheeked geese can be used in the future and that the geese can be expelled by shooting with a special permit also in the spring, taking into account the peace of nesting.
Adequate protection for the Saimaa ringed seal
According to the committee, a year-round ban on net fishing is not necessary. It states that currently the fishing restrictions set to protect the Saimaa porpoise are sufficient – as the porpoise population has strengthened faster than expected in the last five years.
In addition, around 30 percent of Finland’s inland water catches are caught from the Saimaa region, so the year-round net fishing ban required in the citizens’ initiative would have a significant impact on the availability of domestic fish, the committee’s statement says.
Hunting is not the main cause of waterfowl extinction
The committee does not consider the connection of the conservation of endangered waterfowl and hunting restrictions directly to the threat assessment as presented in the citizens’ initiative justified, and proposes rejecting the citizens’ initiative.
According to the committee’s view, securing the vitality of game species is also the starting point of the Hunting Act. The statement considers that there are many other reasons behind the threat of waterfowl, the most significant of which are related to changes in the species’ habitats.