The figure was one-fifth higher than the year before. Herders sought recompense for more than 4,000 lost reindeer.
The ministry says the increase is partly due to growing predator populations.
However the amount of kills by wolverines also climbed steeply even though the number of these medium-sized predators has actually declined.
There are only about 120 wolverines in the country, mostly in the north and east. The ministry is looking into why the number of wolverine kills has jumped.