Reindeer sick with worry

Press, 26 February 1980, Page 17

Reindeer sick with worry

The strains of modem life have caught up with the reindeer of northern Sweden. Nearly 80 per cent have stomach ulcers. Scientists think they are caused by the stress of being herded by helicopter. A veterinary surgeon, Claes Rehbinder, made the discovery when he examined several hundred slaughtered reindeer after the annual kill by their Lapp owners. Rehbinder says further investigation is needed before he can be absolutely certain of the cause, but modern herding methods can do little for the animals’ health.

They are driven hundreds of miles through difficult terrain, then corralled by being driven round in ever-decreasing circles. “These are exactly the same type of stomach ulcers experi-. enced by human beings,” Rehbinder says. His revelations have caused concern in the Lapp community, where reindeer are. big business. Lars Gunnar Thomasson, Lapp representative in Mittadalen, anxious to ward off protests from Sweden’s extremely vocal environmental lobby, says: “No reindeer owner wants to put his animals under stress, for humanitarian reasons . . . and, naturally,- he doesn’t want the meat to be damaged.” He claims that properly conducted helicopter herding is less stressful than herding with snow-scooters and dogs. Until the 19205, small herds of relatively tame reindeer were the general rule among Sweden’s 15,000 Lapps. They were used for milking and as

beasts of burden. Entire families migrated with the herds. Today, as the demand for reindeer;-?: meat has grown, the herds have become larger and larger. Clothing made . from the skin, and cooking utensils from the horn, are big

business with the thousands of tourists who visit “Europe’s last great wilderness,” as the north of Sweden is billed by the tourist authority. The Lapps themselves use modern plastic and metal pots and pans. From the “Observer”