Repealing the obsolete land protection act
Acts repealing the Act on the Protection of Land Against Damage by Domestic Animals and amending section 35 of the Reindeer Husbandry Act
The Act on the Protection of Land Against Damage by Domestic Animals, dating from 1921, will be repealed as obsolete and unnecessary. Damage caused by domestic animals will directly be subject to the general Tort Liability Act.
- Status
- Passed
- Submitted
- 16 Feb 2017
- Latest event
- 4 May 2017
- Votes
- 0
- Speeches
- 10
- Confirmed
- 16 Jun 2017
- Statute
- 376/2017
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
The Act on the Protection of Land Against Damage by Domestic Animals will be repealed in its entirety, and the reference to the repealed act will be removed from the Reindeer Husbandry Act. The construction of shared pasture fences will rely on voluntary agreements, and compensation for damage caused by animals will fall under general tort law.
What it means
The amendment will clarify legislation by removing provisions that have not been applied for decades. The proposal will have no practical or financial impact on livestock keepers, landowners or authorities. The acts will enter into force in spring 2017.
How Parliament voted
The bill passed without a vote – no MP proposed rejecting or amending it in plenary.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
10 speeches · 5 speakers · 2 debates
Key points of the debate
The debate addressed the repeal of the obsolete land protection act and bringing compensation for damage caused by domestic animals under the Tort Liability Act. The proposal to dismantle unnecessary regulation was unanimously supported, but compensation practices for reindeer damage and the possible need to amend the Reindeer Husbandry Act prompted discussion.
- Should the general Tort Liability Act also apply to damage occurring in the reindeer husbandry area?
- Is there a need to reform the Reindeer Husbandry Act to limit damage caused by the right to free grazing?
- Finns PartyIn favour with reservations
The group supported repealing the obsolete act, but had reservations about the proposal's scope regarding reindeer damage. The group took the view that the general Tort Liability Act should also apply in the reindeer husbandry area and called for firmer action against damage caused by reindeer.
”Esityksessä yhtenäistetään vahingonkorvauslakia poronhoitoalueen ulkopuolella. Mielestäni samaa vahingonkorvauslakia tulee soveltaa myös poronhoitoalueella.”
— Kari Kulmala - Centre PartyIn favour
The group supported the proposal as good deregulation that clarifies legislation and effectively brings compensation matters under the general Tort Liability Act. The group pointed out that the change only applies to reindeer outside the reindeer husbandry area and considered opening up the Reindeer Husbandry Act unnecessary.
”Tämä laki on nyt erittäin ajankohtainen ja tarpeellinen.”
— Eeva-Maria Maijala
This digest was generated by AI from 10 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Keskustelu päättyi. Asia lähetettiin maa- ja metsätalousvaliokuntaan.
Yleiskeskustelu päättyi. Eduskunta hyväksyi hallituksen esitykseen HE 7/2017 vp sisältyvien 1.-2. lakiehdotuksen sisällön mietinnön mukaisena. Lakiehdotusten ensimmäinen käsittely päättyi.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 16 Feb 2017Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Maa- ja metsätalousministeriö
- 22 Feb 2017Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 20 Apr 2017Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · maa- ja metsätalousvaliokunta
- 25 Apr 2017Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 28 Apr 2017Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 3 May 2017Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal2
- 1Laki tilusten rauhoittamisesta kotieläinten vahingonteolta annetun lain kumoamisestaHyväksytty · 376/2017 · 16 Jun 2017
- 2Laki poronhoitolain 35 §:n muuttamisestaHyväksytty · 377/2017 · 16 Jun 2017
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
1.Laki tilusten rauhoittamisesta kotieläinten vahingonteolta annetun lain kumoamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti säädetään:
1 §
Tällä lailla kumotaan tilusten rauhoittamisesta kotieläinten vahingonteolta annettu laki (47/1921).
2 §
Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
2.Laki poronhoitolain 35 §:n muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti muutetaan poronhoitolain (848/1990) 35 §:n 3 momentti seuraavasti:
35 §Vahingonkorvausvastuu
Porojen poronhoitoalueen ulkopuolella aiheuttamien vahinkojen korvaamisesta muussa kuin 1 momentissa tarkoitetussa tapauksessa säädetään vahingonkorvauslaissa.
§
Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 13 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.