Bear-related police tasks surge in Eastern Finland, straining resources

Bear-related incidents are overwhelming Eastern Finland’s police, with the force’s command system nearing its limits, according to Chief Detective Superintendent Harri-Pekka Pohjolainen.

Emergency calls involving bears have risen sharply: 45 in 2023, 199 in 2024, and already around 200 by the end of June this year. Most cases involve bears spotted near populated areas.

Not all reports lead to action, but when police must issue an eviction order, it consumes 1–2 hours of work, said Commissioner Jyrki Koskinen, who oversees monitoring and alert operations. Multiple daily incidents place an unreasonable burden on the regional command center’s general supervisors, who coordinate patrol responses.

To manage the workload, police in Eastern Finland have streamlined procedures, replacing individual animal-specific decisions with a single eviction order covering entire game management association areas. However, launching evictions still demands significant time.

Pohjolainen stressed that life-threatening situations always take priority, but high volumes increase the risk of errors. While police do not neglect other duties, excessive bear tasks prevent thorough handling.

Volunteer hunters assist police by evicting bears from residential areas or tracking injured animals. These large carnivore volunteer tasks (SRVA) are on track to break records this year, with 74 bear-related cases logged by June 17. The previous record was 78 in all of 2025.

Bear tasks remain a small fraction of the 14,000–15,000 annual SRVA assignments, most of which involve elk-related traffic accidents. However, bear operations require specialized skills and equipment, such as trained dogs, noted Reima Laaja, a wildlife planner at the Finnish Wildlife Agency. Injured bears can pose serious dangers.

Bear populations have grown due to a hunting halt outside reindeer herding areas since 2023, following legal appeals. This year, 379 exception permits for bear hunting have been sought; decisions are pending. Hunting season begins August 20, but administrative courts may again impose enforcement bans on approved permits, as in previous years.

Without resumed hunting, Finland’s southern bear population could double to 5,000 by 2030, police warn.