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MOSCOW — Police in Russia’s Arctic regions could get herds of reindeer as transport for tracking down criminals who hide in far-off corners of the snowy tundra.

The ministry of the interior is considering a request from officers in the Yamalo-Nenets region in the Far North to buy reindeer, according to Moscow’s Izvestiya newspaper. A police source said perpetrators of domestic violence, hooliganism and thefts often fled to remote, icy spots.

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“Criminals go into hiding in the tundra and hard-to-reach places on their own reindeer sleds and officers don’t always have the means to follow them there,” the source said.

“The same problem arises with delivering suspects to the station.”

Irina Pimkina, a police spokesman in the region, added: “We already have snowmobiles but you have to understand that they are machines. A snowmobile can break down or get stuck in the tundra, but a reindeer keeps running. Reindeer would be useful for beat officers who patrol far-off areas.”

Reindeer remain a way of life for tens of thousands of indigenous herders such as the Nenets in Russia’s high latitudes, where temperatures can drop to -50C.

The animals are used for meat, for skins to make clothes and tents, and to tow sleds. Izvestiya reported that a legal basis for police to use camels, mules and reindeer was confirmed by a 2012 interior ministry directive that laid out how much food each beast should receive over a 24-hour period.

It said that a “service-reindeer” should get 0.5kg of oats, 1kg of hay, 1kg of bread made from mixed rye and wheat flour and 6kg of lichen.