Swine fever restrictions derail Kaisa Tiimo’s pigeon hunt

African swine fever restrictions have prevented Kaisa Tiimo from opening the pigeon hunting season with her dogs in southeastern Finland, Yle reports. Hunting is banned in Virolahti, Miehikkälä and the Ylämaa district of Lappeenranta after infected wild boar were found in the region.

The hunting season for wood pigeons, greylag geese and Canada geese began on Monday. In the core restriction zone in Virolahti, people are not allowed to enter the forest at all and may travel only on roads.

Tiimo, who lives in Ylämaa, had taken the opening day off work. She had planned to go pigeon hunting with her flat-coated retrievers, Pertta and Unna.

“It is a shame that this jackpot has landed here and is affecting us. For someone who enjoys working with hunting dogs, the opening days are holidays,” Tiimo said.

Tiimo is not a hunter herself but a dog handler. She is responsible for dogs bred to retrieve game during hunting situations. Hunting trips structure her autumn, and she sets aside several weekends for the hobby.

“The dogs clearly enjoy being able to carry out behaviour that is natural to them. They bring back as many birds as are brought down,” she said.

Tiimo plans to hunt in places outside the restriction zone. She hopes duck hunting, which begins on August 20, will also be permitted in Ylämaa.

“The advantage of hunting close to home is that it is easy,” she said.

Restrictions raise questions

The Finnish Food Authority imposed broad movement restrictions after wild boar that had died from African swine fever were found in Virolahti. In the core zone, entering the forest is prohibited and travel is allowed only on roads.

Tiimo does not take the restrictions lightly, but she questions why, for example, berry picking is allowed while dogs must be kept on a leash and people must remain on roads.

“A hunting dog moving alone in the forest might cause less panic for a wild boar than a person carrying berry buckets,” she said.

She also said some instructions were not entirely clear, including those concerning swimming dogs. Retrievers enjoy swimming and often retrieve game from the water.

“If you drive a dog to the shore, for example, and let it swim, is that allowed?” she said.

Tiimo hopes the infection situation does not worsen and that the restrictions do not expand, allowing her to continue hunting with her dogs.

The restrictions could have longer-term consequences. If game populations grow, collisions involving moose could become more common.

In addition to the hunting ban, the Finnish Food Authority has prohibited feeding wild animals and the use of carcasses to feed or attract them in the restriction zone.

The European Union reference laboratory for African swine fever in Spain confirmed Finland’s first cases of the disease on Monday.