Hunting 2020

A total of some hunters 310,074 paid the annual game management fee in 2020. 203,000 of them engaged in hunting. The number of hunters has decreased in the 2010s, but the numbers have remained roughly the same for the past six years.
Grouses were harvested approximately the same amount as in the previous year. Approximately 116,000 black grouses, 34,000 wood grouses (capercaillies), 46,000 hazel grouses and 39,000 willow grouses were harvested.
Mallard is by far the most commonly hunted waterfowl in Finland, followed by teal. In 2020, 195,000 mallards and 53,000, teals, including garganeys, were harvested.
The most commonly hunted animal was the wood pigeon (324,000 birds). The average bag of wood pigeons for one hunter was 12 birds.
The hunting bag of small predators were slightly higher than in the previous year. The bag of raccoon dog amounted to around 168,000 animals, the bag of mink to 52,000, the bag of fox to 46,000 and the bag of pine marten to 26,000 animals.
The number of mountain hare harvested has decreased for several years, but last year the trend reversed, and the harvest increased slightly. The bag of mountain hare amounted to around 93,000. The number of European hares harvested was 71,000 animals.

The statistics were compiled from a questionnaire sent to 7,500 hunters. The response rate was about 65%. In general, the catch estimates for the most frequently hunted species are more reliable. The exceptionally large game bags obtained by some hunters cause uncertainty in the game bag estimates. On the area level, the effect of individual may be considerable.
The harvest volumes of deer, other cloven-hoofed animals, large carnivores and seals and other species that are subject to a notification requirement (e.g. some waterfowl) are reported by the Finnish Wildlife Agency and presented on the accuracy of individual animals.