If you are considering a reindeer hunt in Iceland you need to know about some illegal activities involving the use of permits there. The Hunting Report has learned that some outfitters are taking clients hunting with reindeer permits issued in their guides’ names. This is absolutely illegal. We have that directly from Bjarni Palsson, Divisional Manager at the Department of Natural Resources in Iceland. According to Palsson, all reindeer hunting licenses must be issued in the name of the hunter taking the animal. “You can never use a reindeer license in someone else’s name,” he says. “Any guide or outfitter who does this is running a scam.”
Why would an outfitter do this? Because all reindeer hunting licenses are issued strictly through a lottery drawing, and the chances of drawing a permit fluctuate between 30 to 70 percent. This year, 1,300 permits were issued, but 3,200 hunters applied. Of those, 80 applications were for foreign hunters.
The deadline to apply for a reindeer permit is February 15th of each year. To be able to apply for you, your outfitter will need a copy of your passport, a US hunting license and your full address by February 10th. The result of the draw is usually published within a week after the application deadline.
A permit lottery system for reindeer hunting was instituted in Iceland in 2003 due to the increasing popularity of reindeer hunting among Icelandic hunters. There is no nonresident quota, and foreign hunters’ applications are on an equal basis with the Icelandic hunters.....
