– It was a brutally large number. But we are not going to accept the demands that have been put forward, says the reindeer owner to news. On 7 February – the day after the Sami’s national day – the State Administrator in Troms and Finnmark sent an advance warning to 10 reindeer owners. The basis is a reindeer count in Finnmark that was carried out in the winter of 2022. The state demands NOK 6.9 million from the reindeer owners. The entire census cost NOK 18.5 million. The Norwegian authorities spend a good number of millions of NOK on marketing reindeer meat abroad. Here you can read what reindeer owners think about exactly that. – Now the psychological pressure continues Lack of participation in the count and sabotage of the work to gather the herd are among the reasons the state points to as an argument for having its expenses covered. John Idar Anti is one of the ten who have received the notice. He belongs to reindeer herding district 13 – Lágesduottar. The district has the winter pastures in Karasjok, and the summer, spring and autumn pastures in Tana and Lebesby. – We have to go to court. Now we need help from someone who can write, as many of us can almost be considered illiterate when it comes to writing, he says. He says that the state was already clear last year that there would be a demand. Nevertheless, he characterizes the warning as a shock. – The threat of the demand from the state has always been there based on what has been said from various state representatives. This has been a strain, and now the psychological pressure continues. – This matter is not settled in a few weeks, but can drag on for many years and will affect us very strongly, says the reindeer owner from Karasjok. John Idar Anti thinks it is strange that the state demands that the reindeer owners have to pay for the reindeer count. Photo: EILIF ASLAKSEN / news – State employees broke the law The 59-year-old says at the same time he thought that the state could hardly advance a total claim of almost NOK 7 million. He refers to all the offenses committed by the state itself in connection with the census. – More than 300 times they themselves broke the law. Now the state demands that we help cover something that they themselves had no control over, he says. Anti also says that the state administrator admitted last winter that the count should have been stopped because the work lacked funding. – Therefore, it is completely unreasonable that we are now being asked to cover something that should have been stopped, he says to news. State administrator Elisabeth Vik Aspaker replies in an email that they understand that this is a demanding situation for reindeer owners who may risk a payment claim. – It was a challenging operation to carry out this count, and regrettably it resulted in not everything being carried out as it should. But the Reindeer Drift Act is clear that when a decision is made about forced counting, it is the reindeer owners who must be charged, she writes. The state administrator emphasizes that costs incurred, among other things, because work was carried out beyond the provisions of the Working Environment Act are not included in the calculations made for the recourse claim. State administrator Elisabeth Vik Aspaker in Troms and Finnmark. Photo: EILIF ASLAKSEN / news – Working so that some of us have to quit The reindeer owner believes the consequences of the state’s demands could be very dramatic. – Some may be left without a house and home, and have to slaughter the animals to pay what the state demands. It may seem as if the state is working to ensure that some of us have to quit this industry, he says. About NOK 700,000 is the amount that Anti has been notified of. – Should it go so far that the state maintains this, I do not think that an “old man” like me will go bankrupt. On the other hand, they can be very challenging for the young people who may have to struggle with this. These are people with mortgages, other debts and families, he says. A few years ago, the reindeer owners in this district claimed that they received an offer of many millions from a wind power developer. Must respond within three weeks Within three weeks, the reindeer owners in Karasjok must respond to the advance notice to the state. – The deadline is very short compared to the time the state itself has used. An answer must be created at the same time that most of us are involved in reindeer shilling and other daily work, he says. Anti also reacts to the fact that the advance notice states that he opposed the reindeer count and the work, and that he is therefore one of those from whom payment will be required. – I participated in most of them, and also provided equipment when the state’s own equipment stopped working. I was also involved in driving herds into the counting facility. Now we will demand access to the daily reports that have been written, says John Idar Anti. The state administrator states that they are awaiting input from the reindeer owners before the final requirement is drawn up. – But of course it is not the case that someone is working for someone to stop reindeer herding. We are in every way concerned with a sustainable reindeer herding industry, says Vik Aspaker. How do you think reindeer meat sells? That’s how it was a few years ago.
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Reindeer owner refuses to pay the million demand from the state – news Sápmi
