A Norwegian reindeer herder says freight trains have killed more than 100 of the animals on the tracks in three days.
Torstein Appfjell, a distraught reindeer herder in northern Norway, said Sunday that the worst incident happened Saturday when 65 animals were mown down.
Appfjell told The Associated Press by telephone it was “totally tragic” and “unprecedented” for so many reindeer to lose their lives in this way. A total of 106 reindeer were killed since Thursday.
Appfjell represents four families in the area with a total of around 2,000 reindeer. He said that in the worst previous 12-month period, 250 animals were killed in train accidents.
WATCH: Domesticated reindeer becomes a tourist attraction in Finland
Documentary filmmaker, Jon Erling Utsi, took photos of the dead reindeer lying in the snow and said it was “a nightmare to watch,” he told the public broadcaster NRK.
READ MORE: Global warming is killing off reindeer by the thousands, study says
“The worst thing was the animals that were not killed in the accident. They were lying there, suffering. It was a bloodbath over several kilometres,” he said.
VG newspaper reports that Bane NOR, which operates the trains, has now reduced speeds in the area.
Comments