Teller Report

Sámi Parliament: "Working on this all the time"

11/8/2023, 5:11:06 AM

Highlights: Sámi Parliament: "Working on this all the time". More than ten thousand reindeer have been hit by cars in the last five years. Jan Rannerud calls for more wildlife fences and nature passages. "Vision Zero" is the long-term goal that no one should be killed or seriously injured as a result of traffic accidents in Sweden. The Swedish Transport Administration salts the major roads when the slippery conditions come, which can lead to accidents with reindeers on the roads.

More than ten thousand reindeer have been hit by cars in the last five years. Jan Rannerud, chairman of the Sámi Parliament's reindeer husbandry committee, calls for more wildlife fences and nature passages. "Those of us in politics are constantly working on this," he says.


According to police statistics, more than 11,000 reindeer have been hit by cars in road traffic over the past five years.

So what can society and politics really do to prevent it from continuing at the same rate?

Jan Rannerud, chairman of the reindeer husbandry committee at the Sami Parliament, thinks it is a difficult and challenging issue.

"It's mainly on the major roads that accidents happen, and in vulnerable places you can have wildlife fencing that could help. Mainly where it's curvy and on moors," he says.

Vision Zero is crucial

A large part of all traffic accidents involving reindeer occur because the Swedish Transport Administration salts the major roads when the slippery conditions come.

Something they cannot compromise on as it goes hand in hand with Vision Zero, which is the long-term goal that no one should be killed or seriously injured as a result of traffic accidents in Sweden.

"Vision Zero is the same throughout the country and we have raised this issue on several occasions. On the E4, for example, there are several nature passages where the animals can pass. But they are quite costly to build. Those of us in politics are constantly working on this and taking small steps in the right direction.