That sounds far-fetched to me, but I could also see it as a form of dangerous poaching.
The drivers feel that the Sami puts the reindeer on the road to be in the way and cash in on the money they get for the killed raindeers. (Secret tip: It's not enough to be worth it to watch your domestic animals die in your hands or be forced to finnish them off yourself because the owner are forced to take care of the dead animals.)
[0] https://swedenherald.com/article/three-reindeer-killed-linke...
What does "white" mean to you?
It seems pretty clear that the Sami are white:
https://www.ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/12813432...
https://www.ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/39091306...
https://atmos.earth/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sami-people-E...
https://atmos.earth/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sami-people-0...
In 1800 Sweden and Norway made it impossible to follow herds around in Nomadic Style so they all escaped to Finland and Russia.
The "Sami" you see today are Swedes who adopted the lifestyle when certain restriction were lifted and Reindeer-herding become monopoly of Sami. Declaring Samines was just a formality.
All nordic "Sami" oppose DNA-testing, as they clearly are very different from real Sami living in Russia.
No, Sweden and Norway did not make it impossible to follow herds around. They had so little state presence up north, they hardly could even if they had wanted to! Once state power started to reach Northern Sapmi for real, one of the first things Sweden and Denmark/Norway managed to agreed on (despite regular wars!) was rights for reindeer herders to cross borders as they used to. This wasn't to be nice, but because reindeer herders were very profitable tax subjects with a lot of highly mobile capital (so mobile it could move on its own!), and neither Sweden or Norway wanted to scare them off to the other side.
What did happen is that Denmark-Norway and Sweden didn't want to involve Russia-Finland in this early brotherly deal (especially, Norway didn't want to let Russians fish in Norwegian fjords), and so Russia closed its borders, including to the nomads. A few got stuck on the Russian side, but most stayed in Sweden and Norway. This forced the reindeer herders to push further south (with government blessing, as mentioned they were highly profitable subjects) and into the lands of non-herding Sami causing a lot of problems, but that's another story. This is why Norway and Sweden have far more Sami than Russia and the former Russian duchy, Finland. Reindeer herders were also the main preservers of the Sami language, due in no small part to their wealth and pride in their distinctness - how exactly does the Sami language factor into your theory that today's Sami are just cosplaying Swedes?
(Also, if Sami are so opposed to DNA testing, why do I have half of Karasjok in my match list at ftdna?)
It should be noted that that's not a particularly meaningful observation. They speak a Turkic language in Turkey while obviously not being Turks, a legacy of conquest.
And they speak Modern Hebrew in Israel, which is a historical case of language cosplay! Nobody spoke Hebrew before, but they thought it would be cool to do it.
So do the British. So what?
> The indigenous Sami does have white skin
Note that skin color isn't really relevant. An albino black isn't going to pass for white. The Sami, being white, would have no such trouble.
Fur is €300 and canned meat is €10 / 100 grams. So 50 kilo reindeer is eventually worth over €5000.
Yes, anybody can own a reindeer in Finland, but there are important regulations to follow. Reindeer herding is a traditional livelihood, particularly for the Sámi people, and is heavily regulated, especially in the northern Reindeer Husbandry Area (covering about 36% of Finland). Here’s a breakdown: Private Ownership: You can own a reindeer as a private individual, similar to owning other livestock. There are no explicit laws prohibiting non-Sámi or non-residents from owning reindeer, but practical and legal considerations apply.
Reindeer Husbandry Area: In this designated region (mostly Lapland), reindeer herding is managed by the Reindeer Herders’ Association. If you want to keep reindeer here, you must coordinate with local herding cooperatives, as grazing lands are shared. Unauthorized herding can disrupt communal practices.
Outside the Reindeer Husbandry Area: South of this area, you can keep reindeer on private land (e.g., as pets or for tourism), but you need permission from the local agricultural authority, as reindeer are considered livestock under Finnish law.
Practical Challenges: Reindeer require specific care (e.g., grazing land, protection from predators). Without experience or infrastructure, it’s challenging to keep them. Most owners are part of herding cooperatives due to the animals’ semi-wild nature and migratory needs.
Legal Requirements: You must register reindeer with authorities, mark their ears for identification, and comply with animal welfare laws. The Finnish Food Authority oversees livestock regulations.
Cultural Sensitivity: Reindeer herding is central to Sámi culture. Non-Sámi owning reindeer, especially for commercial purposes, can be sensitive if it competes with traditional herding.
If you’re considering owning a reindeer, you’d need to: Check if you’re in the Reindeer Husbandry Area and contact the local cooperative.
Secure land and permits.
Ensure you can meet the animal’s needs.
For specific guidance, contact the Reindeer Herders’ Association (Paliskuntain yhdistys) or local agricultural authorities. If you want me to search for real-time information or analyze related content (e.g., from X or the web), let me know!
Really? That's roughly equivalent to $50/pound! I understand that may change from region to region, but that seems ten times too expensive.
That is NOT why there are so many accidents.
What's your next theory, people hunting children playing ball is why so many children get struck near playgrounds?
(Finland != America) & (Reindeer != Deer) & (Reindeer == Domesticated_Pig_with_Horns)
Are there wolves on the moon, or perched on streetlights?
> Finnish Lapland has a reindeer population of about 200,000. That’s 20,000 more reindeer than people! [1]
[0] https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/news-in-brief/19376-fin...
[1] https://www.lapland.fi/visit/meet-reindeer-ailo/year-of-the-...
The raindeer is not affraid of cars, they just stand there doing nothing until they get hit. It might be a big herd with hundreds of animals on the road and another thousand in the surrounding forest so not much place to run either.
These seem to be either domesticated or herded on certain territories by natives. So spray painting a herd may not be as hard as it sounds.
From https://reindeerherding.org/world-reindeer-herders
> The Association of World Reindeer Herders is a voluntary civil society organization for all the 24 different nomadic indigenous peoples who make a living from reindeer herding across 10 nation-states in the circumpolar north, formally founded during the 1st World Congress of Reindeer Herders in 1997.
Reindeer are the only deer where the male and female both grow antlers, so it could help.
But… antlers fall off and regrow the next year, so you’d have to keep repainting…
Also, when the males rut, they tend to scrape their antlers on trees, so that’s probably not good for keeping paint on the antlers. Bonus! Finnish drivers will likely be able to see reflective trees and avoid them!
I was driving on a two-lane highway and saw a deer up ahead on the side of the road so I started slowing down. The deer saw me, panicked and ran into the brush/woods, then changed direction and ran out and back toward the highway. I kept slowing. It changed direction and ran back toward the woods, changed direction again and ran back toward the highway. By now I was at a full stop and parallel to the deer. It ran head first into the side of my truck, fell down, got up and sort of stumbled back into the woods…
The sad thing is when an animal somehow gets over it, under it, however, and is then trapped on the highway side.
The game fences that do exist aren't really tall enough for deer, maybe 2m tall at best so deer are constantly jumping them. I've always wondered why they aren't taller - I suspect they are more for escaped cows and horses than for deer.
And based on the USGS map, it is very common in WI.
I hope they stared in horror and not arousal, otherwise these deer will never learn
They also prevent predation by exterminating all predators that threaten their herds.
For deer it would be trickier, but I imagine you could somehow do it by setting up feeding stations (pretty common with hunters) and spray them when they approach it. But it would be messy. Now my imagination is wandering, please stop me.
They are still very much afraid of humans with myself being the exception. If someone gets near their feeding area other than me they will scatter. They all come to me and then go back to the mountains far away from all humans except the hunters. Some of the older bucks even know to get up to 10,000+ feet where there is no food but also mostly no hunters whereas the rest of them go to 9500 feet and get picked off first by bow hunters then firearm and also by predatory animals mostly mountain lions.
Something else that often comes up is the increased rate of getting CWD. This is true however they would all be exposed regardless as they all end up on shared paths eventually as the prions are highly resilient to break-down in nature. It was detected in a town near me and I expect a portion of one of the sub-genome to get it and one of the sub-genome to be immune. I am testing a theory on tightening cell junctions on what scientists mistakenly named the blood brain barrier by reducing inflammatory food intake and only time will tell if that reduces the impact at all.
But all of these are far less dangerous than a 500 lbs reindeer, 600 lbs elk, or 1400 lbs moose!
In fact, the color has nothing to do with it. The greens and reds and yellows on US roadway signs are reflective.
I believe deer loose their antlers every year. Painting thousands of deer every year seems impossible.
Or are the referring to deer that are being herded ?
"The virtual fence is the latest attempt to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. It uses a line of posts spaced along the roadside, each with a unit producing loud sounds and flashing lights aimed away from the road. Vehicle headlights activate the units, which are claimed to alert animals and reduce the risk of collision."
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2024...
/s
Let's brainstorm some more, design a special hunter-seeker robot powered by AI that captures deer in the wild and performs this menial task.
Thank you, I'll show myself out.
https://www.hlsnewforest.org.uk/2024/10/24/reflective-collar...
The largest deer population in the 50 US states is in Pennsylvania, home of the Appalachian forests. If I wanted to hunt deer, I could easily live off venison. Shooting them is only tricky during legal hunting season, when they quickly become very wary.
There's 12-20 that live within a mile of me. My dogs and I regularly surprise them sleeping, and I live within 10 minutes of the heart of a large US city.
edelbitter•9mo ago
https://apnews.com/general-news-801aa30308b24b459251c60d569d...
altairprime•9mo ago
https://transportation.libguides.com/c.php?g=849313&p=607536...
Gigachad•9mo ago
genewitch•9mo ago
None of these animals instincts prepared them for the cacophony and lightshow of transportation. Everyone doing 15mph might solve 90% though, but I'll let that be your running platform.
sl-1•9mo ago
HPsquared•9mo ago