Animals

The duties of environmental health care in the administrative branch of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland will be transferred from Regional State Administrative Agencies to the Finnish Food Authority as of 1 January 2026. The pages related to certain animal and food-related notifications, permits and services can be found on the ruokavirasto.fi website in the future. 

More information: Administrative duties shifted to the Finnish Food Authority (Ruokavirasto.fi, in English), press release 19 June 2025 (avi.fi, in Finnish).

Reindeer slaughterhouses and meat processing facilities need authorisation from the Regional State Administrative Agency for Lapland. We are also the competent authority for reviewing changes proposed to existing authorisations.

We also act as the enforcement authority for private veterinary care provision either independently or as instructed by the Finnish Food Authority.