From January 1, 2024, there is a new rule in the Finnish Animal Welfare Act which states that reindeer must be stunned before castration can take place.
The reindeer owner can administer the anesthetic himself via a syringe in the mouth, reports YLE Sápmi.
Already in the autumn, Henna Kaarakainen, Enare municipality's veterinarian, has been involved in the reindeer separations and prepared the reindeer owners for the new order, and they have had the opportunity to administer anesthesia themselves during castration.
- It has been well received.
Many have thought that you should anesthetize by sticking a syringe in the reindeer, but you have had a try and seen how simple it is, says Henna Kaarakainen.
Cheap anesthetic medicine
When the anesthesia is given in connection with the castration, it does not help with the pain of the castration itself but with the aches that come afterwards.
Calmer and tamer bulls can be anesthetized a while before castration, then the castration itself will be less painful, explains Kaarakainen.
- The stunning affects the well-being of the reindeer after castration.
With GPS equipment, they have researched how the stunning affects the reindeer's behavior and what they have seen, among other things, is that during the winter the stunning has an effect for three days.
According to Kaarakainen, the anesthetic medication itself is not expensive.
For a reindeer, it costs between 1.30-1.50 euros, about 15 kroner.
- Hopefully it won't topple the reindeer owner's finances in any case, says Kaarakainen.