Finland’s top court upholds 15 bear culling permits for Joensuu region

Finland’s Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that 15 exceptional permits issued last year for the culling of brown bears in the Joensuu and Eno game management districts were lawful, overturning a lower court decision that had blocked the hunt, Yle reports.

The ruling reverses an earlier decision by the Eastern Finland Administrative Court, which had annulled the permits in January, citing legal violations. The Finnish Wildlife Agency, which originally granted the permits, appealed the lower court’s decision, leading to the Supreme Court’s review.

According to the court, the growing presence of bears near residential properties in the region justified the permits. “This decision clarifies the interpretation of what constitutes sufficient evidence that bears are causing problems in a given area,” said Sauli Härkönen, head of public administration at the Wildlife Agency.

The contested permits were part of a broader set of 129 bear culling licenses issued for eastern Finland in July 2025, with the majority—107—allocated to North Karelia. Southeast Finland received permits for 20 bears, and North Savo for two. However, the hunt was suspended in August 2025 after the administrative court imposed an injunction pending the appeal. Three local branches of the nature conservation group Tapiola had challenged the permits and successfully pushed for the suspension.

Finland last permitted bear hunting outside reindeer herding areas in 2023. Exceptional permits for protected large carnivores require exemptions under the EU Habitats Directive.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which sets annual quotas for bear culls, had proposed a limit of 285 bears for the 2025–2026 season. The Wildlife Agency noted that the next steps in the dispute now depend on how the ministry regulates future hunting through its decrees.

Estimates from the Natural Resources Institute Finland place the current bear population at around 2,300, with projections suggesting the number could double outside reindeer herding areas by 2030 if no culling occurs.