Finland’s raccoon dog population has been drastically reduced in important wildfowl nesting areas, the Finnish Wildlife Agency said on Wednesday.
Between 2022 and 2024, approximately 11,000 raccoon dogs and more than 2,700 mink were removed from 72 such areas around Finland.
The alien predator project was carried out with nearly 400 designated hunters and their dogs, who spent some 50,000 hours of work on the project annually.
The raccoon dog and mink, which have virtually no natural enemies in Finnish nature, pose a threat to waterfowl, as a single individual can destroy a large area of nesting sites. They are legally classified as invasive alien species.
"Good news for Finland's biodiversity"
Researchers at the University of Turku have confirmed that the raccoon dog population has been reduced at the hunting sites, based on game camera observations and a decrease in predation events in nesting areas. The Finnish Environment Institute is also studying the project's impact on bird populations. So far it has found encouraging results. For example, at Matalajärvi, near Lake Bodom in Espoo, the number of Eurasian coot chicks has risen significantly since the project began.
"The results were a positive surprise. It is incredible that the raccoon dog population was reduced on such a large scale. This is good news for Finland's biodiversity," Mikko Toivola, who oversaw the project at the Finnish Wildlife Agency, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Kari Karhula, project manager at the state forest agency Metsähallitus, agrees. "Predation pressure from non-native predators, especially mink and raccoon dogs, is one of the most significant reasons for the decline of waterfowl species in Finland," he said. "These results are an encouraging example of how practical nature management work can have an impact."
