Prosecutor and three men seek Supreme Court review of poaching verdicts

Finland’s largest poaching case could go to the Supreme Court, as the prosecutor and three convicted men seek leave to appeal, Yle reports.

The crimes took place mainly in Lapinlahti, in North Savo, between 2019 and 2023, and involved the illegal hunting of large predators and protected birds. The Court of Appeal convicted 24 men.

The prosecutor is seeking a precedent on the length of hunting bans, which were imposed on 20 men and range from three and a half to seven and a half years. The Court of Appeal had extended the bans ordered by the district court. They remain in force while appeals are pending.

Regional prosecutor Riku-Olli Paukkeri said the bans were still not long enough. The prosecutor also wants the Supreme Court to assess whether shooting a protected wolverine amounts to aggravated hunting offences. The Court of Appeal classified the shooting as a standard hunting offence.

Two men convicted of aggravated hunting offences are seeking to have their verdicts overturned and their hunting bans cancelled or shortened. Both argue that time when police held their firearms during the investigation should count towards the bans.

One man says he was hunting foxes with the others and was never told that the outing involved the illegal hunting of a wolf. The Court of Appeal imposed the five-year ban sought by the prosecutor.

The other man says accounts from fellow hunters were unreliable and the preliminary investigation was inadequate. He also argues that the ban has reduced the value of his hunting dogs by thousands of euros because he cannot use them for hunting, while still having to pay for their upkeep. He says the ban has also affected his social relationships. The prosecutor sought an eight-year ban, but the Court of Appeal set it at five years and six months.

The third man is asking the Supreme Court to reduce the compensation he must pay for the illegal killing of five whooper swans. The Environment Ministry lowered the compensation value for each swan from 2,018 euros to 203 euros. The man says the higher amount has significantly affected his finances and seeks a total payment of 1,015 euros under the revised rate, shared with another man involved in the shootings. The Court of Appeal imposed a five-year hunting ban on him, against the prosecutor’s request for nine years.