Puppy farming, blood and suspicions of criminal activities lurking behind trips to Lapland – serious dog crisis brewing behind the scenes of popular husky safaris

More and more tourists are heading to Lapland, Northern Finland, this coming winter. The rapid rise in tourism has led some tourism entrepreneurs to compete with a business that has grown at the expense of the well-being of dogs. Dreaming of a wonderful husky ride an unsuspecting tourist might end up subsidising a business that damages both dogs and employees.


Lapland for tourists is synonymous to winter wonderland: Father Christmas, reindeer rides and cute sled dogs are the imagery used to advertise the north. As tourism grows the demand for companies that provide sled dog services has increased rapidly.

This growth has happened in art at the expense of the wellbeing of the dogs. Many of the companies involved, who have previously offered husky safaris on a smaller scale, have seized the opportunity that may have seemed like an endless gold mine. However, there are frequently serious deficiencies in the conditions of the dogs and workers.

Dirty tricks might be used when there’s a need to provide dogs for tourists at a rapid rate: at worst dogs are being brought in from overseas by the van load regardless of import requirements and vaccinations or they are bred at a rapid pace. Due to a lack of skilled workforce accidental litters and dog fights are common.

– Authorities are aware of the problems, but more resources are needed to efficiently monitor and improve the conditions of the dogs says Pihla Markkola, veterinarian and head of expertise at SEY.

Poor working conditions and major shortfalls in the wellbeing of dogs

According to SEY Animal Welfare Finland the situation in parts of Lapland is poor. The fact that not even the authorities seem to know the exact number of sled dogs is making it hard to get to the bottom of it.

Most blatantly there has been criminal activity involved in the husky safari business. As it’s not cheap to feed a large number of dogs, some sled dog operators have resorted in a variety of ways of procuring food for their animals. The Finnish customs has, for instance reported about an investigation into the importing of approximately 36 000 kilos of illegal whale meat from Norway in 2022 which was fed to dogs at husky safaries. Working conditions for the employees may also be substandard, as Lapin kansa has recently reported.

Dogs are also imported with incomplete documentation. According to information acquired by SEY for instance a husky safari entrepreneur, who has operated in numerous locations, has repeatedly brought dogs from central Europe to Northern Finland in vans. The dogs have been brought from French kennels without import documents. They haven’t been vaccinated, dewormed or taken to the vet when needed. Dozens of dogs have been brought in at a time.

Some of the sled dog entrepreneurs have publicly said that the dogs aren’t registered at the Food authority’s dog registry. Since the dogs are unregistered their real numbers and e.g. number of pups is never accounted for. Many entrepreneurs move to another locale or even overseas if they get into trouble with the officials in one region. SEY has knowledge of many cases where the operator has been convicted of animal welfare offences but, who have consequently moved their operations to Sweden or Norway or vice versa. Often, they flee the region before being convicted.

Neglecting the welfare of the dogs is already damaging Finland’s reputation

Pihla Markkola at SEY points out that operators who neglect animal welfare are damaging the whole sled dog industry in addition to tourism in Lapland and to Finnish reputation globally.

– There are many responsible operators, who take animal welfare seriously. However, it’s hard for the traveller to find these companies as there are so many providers available.

Markkola points out that tourists come to Finland for quality and wellbeing.

– The term One Welfare is already known around the world. This term underlines how human and animal welfare is tied together. Finland should present itself as a country where the wellbeing of dogs is also taken care of.

Further information

Puppy farming, blood and suspicions of crime – Consequential canine crisis brewing in Lapland, Northern Finland

SEY Animal Welfare Finland

SEY, Animal Welfare Finland, active in animal welfare since 1901, is the biggest and most influential animal welfare group and animal protection expert in Finland.

SEY acts for all animals and is active in the whole country. The practical animal welfare work is done by 38 member associations, and 57 volunteering animal welfare inspectors and counsellors.

SEY is the Finnish representative in developing the EU animal welfare legislation in Eurogroup for Animals, the head organisation for animal welfare groups in the EU. SEY is a partner of the World Animal Protection, and a member of the Nordic Council for Animal Welfare. SEY participates in international campaigns, and passes information to Finland.