Finland's police investigation into suspected illegal winter feeding of wild ducks in Kajaani centers on a single activist and the 20 to 30 kilograms of grain delivered daily to the birds. Police have reopened a preliminary investigation after receiving new information, with activist Keijo Nevaranta summoned for questioning as a suspect in an environmental offense at the end of January.
The Reactivated Investigation
Police had investigated the suspected feeding activity once before last winter but suspended the inquiry. In December, authorities initiated a new preliminary investigation. The head of the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Marko Kähkönen, confirmed the case was reopened because new information had come to light. Kähkönen did not specify the nature of this new information or detail what investigative steps police have taken so far. Keijo Nevaranta, the activist who feeds the ducks in winter, told media he received a summons for police questioning but has not been informed of the specific suspicions against him. "I have not received information about what I am suspected of," Nevaranta said. He believes he is the only suspect, stating he heard from people in local villages that no one else had been asked to give a statement.
The City's Ban and Activist Response
The City of Kajaani banned the feeding of wild animals on city-controlled areas within its detailed plan zone in August 2024. The municipal environmental technical board justified the prohibition citing risks related to rats and bird flu. The city subsequently filed a criminal report regarding unauthorized feeding in late 2024. This municipal action directly conflicts with a long-established local practice. The City of Kajaani itself provided winter food for ducks until 2011, after which volunteers took over the task. Activists purchase grain from local farmers and distribute it to the ducks. Nevaranta says he does not know exactly how many feeders are involved but coordinates through a Facebook group of activists. The group has been feeding the ducks since last winter. "Every day, 20 to 30 kilos of grain are taken to the ducks," Nevaranta reports.
Biological Dependency and Legal Conflict
Activists argue the ducks have been fed in winter for so long that the population would not survive if feeding stopped. They claim the ducks have lost their migration instinct. The scientific perspective on this dependency remains unclear. Aleksi Lehikoinen, senior curator at the Finnish Museum of Natural History, provided an assessment last November. "Probably some of the birds would know how to carry on, but not necessarily all," Lehikoinen said. He suggested that if feeding were stopped completely at the outset, the ducks might leave, but a mid-winter cessation would be more problematic. Lehikoinen stated that mallards are not naturally capable of wintering in Kajaani's climate, at least not in large numbers. This creates a core tension: a practice born from compassion may have fostered a non-sustainable population reliant on human intervention, now clashing with municipal regulations aimed at public health and order.
The Scope of the Practice and Its Uncertain Future
The feeding operation, while coordinated, appears decentralized. Nevaranta's Facebook group serves as a hub for volunteers, but the total number of participants is unknown. The scale is significant, involving daily deliveries of grain paid for by the activists. The city's ban represents a formal attempt to end a practice that had persisted for over a decade following the municipality's own withdrawal from the activity. The police investigation, focused currently on one individual, tests the enforcement of this new regulation. The outcome could set a precedent for how Finnish municipalities manage similar conflicts between citizen-led wildlife support and local ordinances. The central question remains whether the ducks, having potentially lost natural migratory behaviors, can adapt if the human support they have relied upon is legally severed.