Girjas Sami village, in Gällivare municipality, took over the right of tenure regarding hunting and fishing through a ruling by the Supreme Court in 2020. Since then, they have administered small game hunting in the Sami community's area.
"It's worked well. It has decreased because the foreign hunters have not turned up, says Matti Blind Berg, chairman of the Swedish Sami National Association and former chairman of Girja's Sami community.
Sharp decrease in hunting days
According to documents from the reindeer land investigation that SVT Nyheter Västerbotten has taken part in, the number of hunting days has decreased by 63% in the Sami community's area. Something that has benefited the reindeer herding, but the hunters' association is critical.
Didn't want to disturb the reindeer herding
Small game hunting is usually allowed from 25 August, but in order not to disturb the reindeer herding, Girja's Sami village, located in Gällivare municipality, chose to start the hunt only on 15 September last year. It is also only hunters from Norrbotten who are allowed to buy hunting licenses within Girja's Sami village. Hunters from, for example, Västerbotten are therefore no longer allowed to hunt there.
Watch Anders Iacobæus from the Hunters' Association and Matti Blind Berg, chairman of the Swedish Sami National Association and former chairman of Girja's Sami village, in the video above.