Norwegian Herder Ordered to Kill Half His Reindeer

On Thursday, the Norwegian Supreme Court ruled that a local herder must cull half of his reindeers, reducing the herd from 150 to 75.

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The reindeer herder, Jovsset Ante Sara, argued that the order would threaten his livelihood, but the judges, according to the Telegraph, said the mass killing of the animals is necessary for preserving Norway's fragile landscape.

Sara belongs to the indigenous Sami community, whose ancestral trades includes reindeer herding.

"[The ruling] shows the court does not believe the Sami people can decide on their own destiny," Sara's lawyer, Trond Pedersen Biti, told the Guardian.

The semi-nomadic Sami people are one of Europe’s oldest and northernmost-based indigenous people. "The government seems to believe that the reindeer herders do not know best."

Sara plans to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights, the New York Post reported.

The case has been ongoing since 2014.

Sara has twice successfully challenged orders to reduce the size of his herd. The Norwegian government appealed in a bid, it said, to prevent overgrazing on the tundra where an estimated 220,000 reindeer call home.

Norway's Supreme Court said the cull order did not violate Sara's rights.