Kuusamon large predator centre faces uncertain future as founder reaches limits
Sunday 19th July 2026 on 17:45 in
Finland
Sulo Karjalainen, 85, founder and owner of Kuusamo’s large predator centre, says he no longer knows how long he can continue running the facility.
The centre, which has operated for more than three decades, is now at a crossroads after its chief executive and board resigned this spring. Former CEO Pasi Jäntti told Yle that Karjalainen resisted reforms aimed at improving the centre’s condition.
Karjalainen has been convicted of aggravated accounting fraud in 2024 and animal welfare violations in 2025. The accounting case stemmed from missing financial records spanning multiple years, while the animal welfare conviction related to the poor housing of a bear cub named Aina, kept in an undersized storage room.