The Finnish Parliament has supported a proposal to allow hunting of cormorants and barnacle geese as a means to control their populations.
The Parliament’s Environment Committee backed the initiative, citing the need to regulate these species and reduce the damage caused—particularly by barnacle geese—to agricultural operations. The committee also highlighted the importance of providing compensation to farmers who suffer such losses. Nationwide, these damages are estimated at €2–4 million annually.
The barnacle goose population has been steadily growing in recent years. Each migration season, around 1.5 million of these birds pass through Finnish territory.
Cormorants have also seen continuous population growth since 1996, and their current population in Finland is estimated at 120,000. In the summer of 2024, nearly 32,000 cormorant nests were counted—an increase of 14% compared to summer 2023.
While barnacle geese are a problem for farmers, cormorants have become a concern for the fishing industry, which reports negative impacts from their growing numbers.
The committee’s decision has sparked heated debate. The Green League and the Left Alliance filed a joint objection to the proposal.
