Due to the damage caused by bears in part of Karelia, northeastern Finland, a record number of bear hunting licenses were awarded this year, media reported on Tuesday.

However, the increased bear hunting did not lead to stronger sales of bear meat, as the enhanced meat inspection rules have blocked the distribution.

Earlier, the sale of bear meat required that a local vet confirms there is no trichina in the animal. The ailment is contagious to humans. The last case of trichina in a human in Finland was in 1970.

New rules based on EU norms require that bear meat must be inspected in a proper meat inspection facility. But they are hard to find in North Karelia.

The Finnish food safety authority Evira has told national broadcaster Yle that many inspection centers are unwilling to accept wild animal meat as the facilities would require full cleaning before industrial animals could be processed again.

Hunter Taisto Hiltunen told Yle he had sold two recent catches, but inspection could not be arranged. And now he is cooking the bear fat into hand lotion and shoeshine.