The eastern border of Finland is protected by a border zone, and its width on land varies from a few hundred metres up to three kilometres. The border zone is marked in the terrain with border zone signs, booms and yellow circles affixed to trees. Entering the border zone without a permit is punishable.

Keep your hunting dog on a lead when near the border

Make sure that your dog does not accidentally cross the border into Russia. Keep your dog on a lead and do not let it loose close to the border. Game animals often move across the border to Russia, and dogs follow after them. Getting a dog back to Finland once it has crossed the border is not necessarily always possible.

Do not hunt with your dog off lead in the border zone.

Mark your dog’s equipment clearly with your contact information, for example your phone number, before the hunt begins. The information will come in handy if your dog should cross the border accidentally.

If your dog has gone missing near the national border, report this to the command centre of the Border Guard District in the area.

Contact information of the Border Guard Districts 

Dogs found off lead in the border zone will be taken by the Border Guard to a shelter for stray animals. All cases of dogs having crossed the border into Russia will also be reported to a veterinarian in Finland.

Fetching a hunting dog or injured game from the border zone

If you need a permit to fetch a hunting dog from the border zone, or to search for and put down injured game, you can request a permit directly from the command centre of the Border Guard District in the area. In such cases, the Border Guard District may also grant a border zone permit orally after consideration on a case-by-case basis.

More information on border zone regulations and border zone permits can be found on the Border zone permit web page.

You can also contact the Border Guard District in the area if you come across something unusual near the border, or if you, for example, suspect a crime has been committed.

An advance permit is needed for hunting within the border zone

Under certain conditions, you can get a permit to conduct driven moose hunts within the border zone.

The Finnish Border Guard can grant a permit, if there is an acceptable reason for it. Such a reason can, for instance, be a moose hunting permit issued by the Finnish Wildlife Agency, according to which the hunting area extends to the border zone. In the permit application, one shall justify, why the hunt needs to be carried out especially within the border zone. The hunt may not compromise the order along the border or the maintaining of border security.

Primarily, you should apply for a border zone permit online. Detailed instructions can be found on the Border zone permit web page. You can also apply for a border zone permit from the Border Guard District’s headquarters or border guard stations. Fill in information on the planned activities and participants in the application.

Every participant in the hunt needs a border zone permit. Everyone does not necessarily have to apply for a permit separately, you can also apply for a permit as a group.

The border zone permit particularly defines the right to possess and use firearms and ammunition within the border zone. Attached to the approved permit decision, you will receive instructions on how to conduct the hunt in order to avoid shooting towards the Russian side of the border or endangering the occupational safety of border guards working in the area.

Every permit holder needs to keep the border zone permit with them at all times while in the border zone.