Russia has filed suit against Norway, demanding that the country pay 47 million kroner after 40 mountain reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus), also called the Norwegian reindeer, invaded the Russian section of Øvre Pasvik National Park and stayed there for just over two months.

In December 2022, staffers in the Russian section of Øvre Pasvik National Park spotted 40 reindeer who illegally crossed the border between the two countries and started eating local Icelandic reindeer moss. The violators were herded back to Norway in January 2023.

The park’s Russian specialists demanded that Norway reimburse Russia for the moss that the reindeer herd consumed, estimated at 47 million kroner.

The Norwegian Agriculture Administration (Ministry of Agriculture and Food) has not yet voiced its position regarding this demand, Tone Franzen Seppola, an acting department chief with the Alta Agriculture Administration, noted.

He said the administration initially prioritized fence improvement and a maintenance project. Regarding the lawsuit on the illegal grazing of Norwegian reindeer, we are now planning a meeting with the Russian national park’s management, he added. So far, it is still too early to reply to questions about compensation, he said.

In 1991, the heads of Russia’s, Norway’s, and Finland’s nature conservation agencies met and decided that the three countries should cooperate on nature conservation and management for the Pasvik-Inari district at the local level. The sides also made strides to protect the large pristine nature territory as a common asset. At that time, they decided to expel horned “violators,” and each country pledged to compensate the losses caused by its native reindeer from their respective national budgets.