Infamous Hunter Accused Of Trespassing

Police in the Westfjords received a tip that one of the most well-known hunters in Iceland had been shooting guillemot on their cliffside nests from a boat much closer than the legal limit of 500 meters. Snorri Rafnsson, the social media influencer also known as Vargurinn, says that he never got closer to the cliffs than 800 meters, but he certainly shot a considerable amount of birds.

“It’s just wrong,” he said in an interview with Vísir. “I was never trespassing there…According to my information, this is all legal.”

While it is not illegal to shoot the guillemot in spring, according to the Hunting Act, it is prohibited to shoot them in their cliffside nests closer than 500 meters from the sea. This is to prevent the shots scaring the birds, causing them to flee, abandoning their eggs.

Bjarni Pálsson, who is in charge of the team of biotech and fisheries management at the Environment Agency of Iceland, says that it would be most disturbing if Snorri had violated the law in this way, because Snorri had contacted him specifically to determine what the law was specific to shooting the birds.

Snorri has thousands of followers on social media, including Snapchat and Instagram. He uses his platform to promote hunting and trapping, but he insisted to Vísir that it’s all legal, and the people who issued these tips are just jealous of his fame. “Envy is so strong,” he said. “I try to do everything right and use the resources that Iceland has to offer…If I was trespassing, I’ll take the hit. But I’ve never done anything illegal.”

Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.