HOW DARE THEY

40 Norwegian Reindeer Accused of $4M in Damage to Russia

The deer crossed a frozen river into Russia’s Murmansk region late last year in what one Russian nature reserve called a show of “arrogance.”

Dozens of Norwegian reindeer have been accused of “arrogance” and “disrespect” for crossing the Russian border late last year and supposedly inflicting millions of dollars worth of damage at a Russian nature reserve. The Russian Pasvik Nature Reserve is demanding 47 million Norwegian Krone (about $4.6 million) for the “significant damage” it says the deer caused, according to The Barents Observer. Natalya Polikarpova, the director of the reserve, said the initial compensation amount calculated was much lower (about $5,000) but authorities then arrived at the higher amount using a method “based on the experience of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” The deer are accused of wreaking havoc by not only eating up shrubs and moss, but also “trampling” the ground with their hooves. “This is arrogance and disrespect for nature conservation, which Norway claims to adhere to, and disrespect for the interests of another country,” Polikarpova said.