Reindeer herders play critical role in monitoring Finland’s eastern border with Russia
Reindeer herders, who are constantly on the move and have an intimate knowledge of their region, play an essential role in monitoring Finland’s eastern border. Both the herders and the Finnish Border Guard benefit from their close collaboration.
In Inari’s Raja-Jooseppi, the local Lapland reindeer herding community has their separation fence right next to the border guard station. New reindeer owner Nilla Hirvasvuopio is pleased with the cooperation. According to Hirvasvuopio, reindeer herders, who regularly move around the border area, for instance to repair the border fence erected for reindeer, also keep an eye on the terrain. If they spot anything unusual, they report it to the border guards, and vice versa.
Hirvasvuopio confidently states that nothing larger than a dog could pass without being noticed. Stray dogs from Russia have indeed been a nuisance for the reindeer herders this spring. These dogs were not wearing collars or any other identifying marks and did not respond to Finnish commands. However, they understood when commanded in Russian.
Following a mutual agreement, the border guards were informed about the dogs. Before they could be handed over, the dogs managed to escape back across the border.
The Border Guard appreciates the partnership with the reindeer herders. Lieutenant Colonel Ville Ahtiainen of the Lapland Border Guard Brigade says that reindeer herders are a great help in patrolling the border and preventing illegal border crossings. As the areas are vast and patrols limited in number, the benefits are mutual.
Ahtiainen adds that regular, almost daily communication is maintained, sometimes even joint patrols are conducted. They generally plan new snowmobile routes and other passageways and make observations about their necessity.
On the other hand, cooperation with the Russians regarding observation of reindeer that have strayed or died across the border has stalled after the border was closed. They have not been able to retrieve reindeer death collars from the Russian side recently.
The eastern border has been calm recently, apart from wildlife, there have been no unauthorized border crossings. However, Lieutenant Colonel Ahtiainen says that surveillance is always ongoing, as they are aware of the risk of possible instrumental migration operated by Russia.
Formally, the reindeer herders and Border Guard meet twice a year to discuss matters of mutual interest. The trust and respect between reindeer herders and border officials are at a level that it is pleasant to work in the field, says Juha Kujala, reindeer owner of the Oivangin reindeer herding community in Kuusamo.
However, Nilla Hirvasvuopio hopes that the Finnish Defence Forces would pay better attention to reindeer husbandry in the area and make use of the local knowledge of reindeer herders. He suggests, for instance, inquiring where training troops would be least disruptive. They had to shoo away soldiers from the midst of a reindeer herd last winter in the Vuotso area.