Sauli Laaksonen

• Professor (Associate) at University of Helsinki

Background During seasonal round-ups, free-grazing reindeer are gathered from natural pastures. Reindeer bulls removed from breeding are clamp castrated, traditionally without analgesia, and then returned to the grazing grounds. The new Finnish Animal Welfare Act requires the use of analgesia in painful procedures. Our earlier studies have shown th...

Background During seasonal round-ups, free-grazing reindeer are gathered from natural pastures. Reindeer bulls removed from breeding are clamp castrated, traditionally without analgesia, and then released back into the wild. The new Finnish Animal Welfare Act requires the use of analgesia in painful procedures. A single dose of the non-steroidal an...

Background Reindeer herding and husbandry is a traditional and important livelihood in Fennoscandia, and about 200,000 semi-domesticated reindeer are herded in Finland. Climatic changes, leading to ice-locked winter pastures, and encroachment of pasture-land have led to changes in reindeer husbandry, increasing the extent of supplementary or full r...

Yearly, 2500–4000 reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) bulls are castrated in Finland, mostly without pain alleviation. No previous research exists concerning pain-related behaviours during castration in reindeer. Our aims were to investigate the effects of Burdizzo clamp castration on reindeer behaviour and rectal temperature during the procedure...

Objective To investigate the pharmacokinetics of orally and intravenously (IV) administered meloxicam in semidomesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). Study design A crossover design with an 11 day washout period. Animals A total of eight young male reindeer, aged 1.5–2.5 years and weighing 74.3 ± 6.3 kg, mean ± standard deviation. Met...

Drivers of change in the reindeer management system are rather well-known. But when developing the governance to support the traditional livelihoods, it is crucial to understand also practitioner perceptions. Systematic research on these is lacking. We analyzed the land-use and climate related drivers within the reindeer management area (RMA) in Fi...

We have analyzed DNA microsatellites and the mitochondrial control region in reindeer from 31 different husbandry areas in Norway, Sweden, and Finland in order to better understand the processes that underlie the genetic variability of the Nordic domestic herds. The distinct differentiation found in the nuclear markers but less so in the mitochondr...

Game birds may carry zoonotic bacteria in their intestines and transmit them to hunters through bird handling or through the handling and consumption of contaminated meat. In this study, the prevalence of foodborne bacteria was screened from game bird faeces and mallard breast meat using PCR. The sampling occurred in southern Finland from August to...

Grey wolf Canis lupus is often the main predator of moose Alces alces. Therefore it can be expected that moose are able to recognize the presence of wolves and react to them to avoid predation. We examined the effect of predation risk by wolves on movement patterns by moose in eastern Finland where moose and wolves have co-existed for centuries. Th...

The deer ked (Lipoptena cervi) is a harmful ectoparasite that emerged in the reindeer herding area of Finland in 2006. To understand the current range and the intensity of infestations on its novel reindeer host, we studied deer ked pupae collected from reindeer and moose bedding sites and conducted a questionnaire survey among the managers of 18 r...

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) are known to host a wide variety of parasites, including those in the gastrointestinal system. Here, we review the current knowledge of the main gastrointestinal parasites of reindeer focusing on northern Fennoscandia, which comprises parts of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. We explore both the historical b...

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) host numerous parasites. Although there is a general knowledge about parasite diversity in reindeer, detailed baseline information about parasitic infections is limited. Detailed knowledge of parasite prevalence and diversity provide a pathway for more targeted parasite control, an increasing need expected in t...

Background In northern Finland (Lapland), reindeer are reared as semi-domesticated animals. The region has a short summer season of 2–3 months, yet reindeer are infected with the mosquito-borne filarioid parasite Setaria tundra. The infection causes peritonitis and perihepatitis, which cause significant economic losses due to reduced body weight of...

Hunting is currently a very popular activity, and interest in game meat is increasing. However, only limited research is available on the bacterial quality and safety of moose (Alces alces) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) harvested by hunters. Poor hunting hygiene can spread bacteria onto the carcasses, and inadequate chilling of the...

Phylogenetic relationships of tapeworms of the genus Moniezia Blanchard, 1891 (Cestoda, Anoplocephalidae) parasitizing the Eurasian elk Alces alces, the moose A. americanus and the reindeer/caribou Rangifer tarandus (Cervidae) were studied using DNA sequences of two mitochondrial genes (cox1 and nad1). Several isolates from domestic ruminants, repr...

Abstract Background Infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) is one of the most common ocular diseases in ruminants worldwide. In addition to keratitis and conjunctivitis, animals with IKC can develop uveitis, corneal ulcer, and in severe cases, blindness. The bacteria Moraxella spp. has been described as the primary causative agent of infectious bovi...

Background The spread of vector-borne diseases to new regions has become a global threat due to climate change, increasing traffic, and movement of people and animals. Dirofilaria repens, the canine subcutaneous filarioid nematode, has expanded its distribution range northward during the last decades. The northernmost European locations, where the...

Climate oscillations and episodic processes interact with evolution, ecology and biogeography to determine the structure and complex mosaic that is the biosphere. Parasites and parasite–host assemblages are key components in a general explanatory paradigm for global biodiversity. We explore faunal assembly in the context of Quaternary time frames o...

Background Slaughter reindeer are exposed to stress caused by gathering, handling, loading and unloading, and by conditions in vehicles during transport. These stress factors can lead to compromised welfare and trauma such as bruises or fractures, aspiration of rumen content, and abnormal odour in carcasses, and causing condemnations in meat inspec...

Fecal samples collected from 470 slaughtered reindeer 6 to 7 months of age were screened by real-time PCR (after enrichment) for Shiga toxin genes (stx) and then for Escherichia coli serogroup O157. Shiga toxin genes were found frequently (>30% of samples), and serogroup O157 was detected in 20% of the stx-positive samples. From these samples, a to...

The nematodes Setaria tundra, Onchocerca spp. and Rumenfilaria andersoni appear to have emerged in Fenno-Scandinavian reindeer during the latter half of the 20th century, associated with microfilaraemia, peritonitis, necrotic granulomas and tarsitis. Filarioid nematode faunas now recognized in Fennoscandia are a mosaic assembled from disparate sour...

Abstract Background: Various food-producing animals were recognized in recent years as healthy carriers of bacterial pathogens causing human illness. In northern Fennoscandia, the husbandry of semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) is a traditional livelihood and meat is the main product. This study determined the presence of selec...

Background Moose (Alces alces) are a culturally and economically valued species in Minnesota, where the northeast population has decreased by 60 % since 2006. The cause of the decline is currently unclear; however, parasites, predation, and climate change have all been implicated. Nematode parasites are important pathogens in North American moose,...

The Finnish and Russian animal species (semi-domesticated reindeer, Finnish wild moose, Baltic grey seal and Baltic herring) samples were biomonitored in terrestrial and aquatic environments for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs). Grey seal (Halic...

To investigate genetic diversity and the population structure of the European moose (Alces alces), we analyzed 14 microsatellite loci for 694 samples collected across 16 localities. The highest genetic diversity was detected in Belarus and Russia and the lowest was found in Scandinavia. Two major genetic clusters existed, Scandinavian and continent...

Recent studies revealed expansion of filarioid nematodes into northern Finland. In addition to Setaria tundra, an abundant filarioid, Rumenfilaria andersoni, was found inhabiting the lymphatic vessels of reindeer. Our study explores the dynamics of the rapid geographic expansion of R. andersoni, defining prevalence and density of microfilariae amon...

'Hunting hygiene' is an internationally unparalleled textbook introducing the basics of hunting hygiene. This concept includes the basic biology and ecology of game animals as well as game animal diseases and their causes. An important part of hunting hygiene is the identification and assessment of pathological alterations and the possible risks fo...

Cold climatic conditions favor accumulation process of environmental contaminants in the northern ecosystems. Lichens, which are important food of reindeer, have a reduced ability to resist toxic substances in precipitation. The contaminants in lichen readily accumulate to reindeer. Lichen samples were analyzed for Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins...

Cervid Herpesvirus 2 (CvHV2) in the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily, is endemic in most populations of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). The capacity of this virus to infect the respiratory and genital tracts and the ocular mucosa has been demonstrated. Infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) is one of the most common ocular diseases in ruminants worldwide,...

The increasing number of sheep (Ovis aries) in northern Finland, often alternately corralled with winter-fed reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus), creates potential for cross-infection of gastrointestinal nematodes. The aim of this study was to elucidate this possibility with 43 animals. Eleven reindeer and 8 sheep had shared a corral by turns, re...

Aim Moose, Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758), survived the European Pleistocene glaciations in multiple southern refugia, in a northern refugium near the Carpathians and possibly in other locations. During the second millennium ad , moose were nearly extirpated in Europe and only recolonized their current range after World War II . The number and locati...

Blood-sucking ectoparasites have often a strong impact on the behaviour of their hosts. The annual insect harassment of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) has increased in the southern part of the Finnish reindeer herding area because of the recent invasion of a blood-feeding ectoparasitic louse-fly, the deer ked (Lipoptena cervi). We studied th...

A study concerning persistent organic pollutants in Finnish semi-domesticated reindeer was conducted in northern Finland. The aim of this study was to explore POP presence in different tissues of reindeer. In addition, it was studied how POPs are transported from food concentrates and lichen to reindeer hind tissues and further to the placenta, foe...

Parasites are among the most common organisms on the planet, and represent diverse members of all biological communities. Parasites tie communities together, revealing or telling stories about critical connections established by a history of evolution, ecology (food habits, foraging behavior, interactions among host species) and biogeography (patte...

Hunting hygiene, in Finnish

Genetic structures of Holarctic species are largely formed by Pleistocene colonisation history, dispersal capacity and interactions between biotic and abiotic factors, even though the human impact can also be significant. The Holarctic moose (Alces alces) arrived in Fennoscandia around 9,000–8,000 years ago, and it has been exploited by humans ever...

Winter supplementary feeding of wildlife is controversial because it may promote parasite and disease transmission by host aggregation. We investigated the effect of winter supplemental feeding of Scandinavian moose (Alces alces) on gastrointestinal (GI) parasite infection in two counties of southern Norway by comparing fecal egg counts of moose us...

Wolbachia are vertically transmitted endosymbiotic bacteria of arthropods and onchocercid nematodes. It is commonly accepted that they co-evolved with their filarial hosts, and have secondarily been lost in some species. However, most of the data on the Wolbachia/Onchocercidae relationship have been derived from studies on two subfamilies, the Diro...

Predation is often considered an important factor for population regulation and in some cases for the invasion success of prey. Small mammalian predation may be a major force in the population regulation of many ground-dwelling invertebrate species. The deer ked (Lipoptena cervi (L., 1758)) is an ectoparasitic fly of cervids. The species has a larg...

The deer ked (Lipoptena cervi) is an ectoparasitic fly on cervids that has expanded its distribution rapidly in Northern Europe. However, the regulating biotic factors such as predation remain unknown. The host-independent pupal stage of the fly lasts for several months. Blackish pupae are visible against snow, especially on the bedding sites of ho...

The deer ked (Lipoptena cervi, Diptera, Hippoboscidae) is a haematophagous parasitic fly of the moose (Alces alces) and other cervids, and it is very common in southern and central parts of Finland. The aim of this study was to determine how the intensive parasitism caused by the deer ked affects the health and welfare of the moose. Moose blood sam...

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