Regional authorities in Murmansk consider to establish a special police unit in the local tundra following a dramatic reduction in the number of reindeers in the Kola Peninsula. While the number of animals was 67.000 in 2008, the figure has now dropped to 42.000, the lowest number since the 1930s, Murman.ru reports.
The main reason for the drop is massive poaching, the authorities say.
Local Sami herdsmen now want the law enforcement authorities to establish the special police unit, a necessary measure in order to turn the trend, they say.
During a recent visit to the region, federal Minister of Agriculture Nikolai Fyodorov was confronted by the problem, which according to experts “threatens the future of the whole regional reindeer industry”.
In the neighboring Norway and Finland there have for decades existed special reindeer police units. In northern Norway, a total of 14 policemen follow up law enforcement in the areas dominated by the reindeer herders.
