Finland Launches Regional Push to Remove Canadian Beavers, Targeting Tampere to Seinäjoki
Finland has mapped removal and reduction zones and will attempt area-by-area eradication of North American beavers, including a zone from Tampere to Seinäjoki. Hunting rules may change under new EU measures that could allow year-round hunting from 2027.
Mud, sticks and a trail to the water mark a freshly built beaver lodge. The North American beaver was added to the EU's list of harmful invasive species in summer 2025, and Finland, the only EU country where it lives, has drawn up a plan to remove the animals area by area, with hunting rules set to change significantly next summer, YLE reports.
Working with the Natural Resources Institute Finland and the University of Turku, the Finnish Wildlife Agency has mapped removal and reduction zones aligned with game management association boundaries. Authorities will clear Canadian beavers from the designated removal zones first. One such swath runs roughly from Tampere to Seinäjoki and is several tens of kilometres wide. Hunting will then be intensified in neighbouring reduction areas until those too can be treated as removal zones.
Under EU rules due to take effect in August 2027, year-round hunting would be allowed, including during the breeding season, unless Finland's forthcoming national law restricts it. Karin Cederlöf, a legal adviser at the ministry, says the invasive-species law permits more effective methods than the current hunting act, but needless suffering must be avoided. Authorities can take DNA from fresh feeding cuts to avoid mistakenly killing scarce European beavers. Olli Kursula, a regional game manager, warns eradication will take decades in areas with strong Canadian beaver populations.
Catch the full story over at YLE
