ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s saiga antelope population has reached a record 4.1 million, said Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Nurken Sharbiyev during an April 22 round table discussion, highlighting both the country’s success in conservation and the growing challenges posed by the rapid population increase.
Photo credit: Victor Tyakht/Shutterstock.
Current estimates, including lambing in May 2024, include Ural population – 2.3 million, Betpak-Dala population – 1.6 million and Ustyurt population – 92,200, reported Kazinform.
Over 98% of the world’s saiga population is now located in Kazakhstan. The country actively cooperates with neighboring countries, including Russia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, on the conservation and sustainable use of the saiga. However, the rapid growth is raising concerns, notably in West Kazakhstan, where saigas pose serious challenges to ecosystems and agriculture.
To address this problem, the Ministry of Ecology has developed a comprehensive plan for the conservation and rational use of saiga for 2025–2026, currently under review. Sharbiyev stated that final population data will be confirmed in May, after which proposals will be sent to the government in June. The controversial question of whether regulated saiga culling should be allowed remains unresolved.
Alternative views on managing the population were shared at the round table. German expert Stefan Zutter from the Frankfurt Zoological Society suggested that Kazakhstan can already move towards sustainable use of the saiga population, while calling for the abandonment of the term “population regulation” accepted in international practice.
Also, Deputy of Mazhilis, the lower house of the Kazakh Parliament, Yerbolat Saurykov of the Auyl party advocated for non-lethal regulation methods, emphasizing the need to support farmers while preserving the species without shooting.
Saurykov proposed capturing saigas using nets or pens for processing, such as producing canned meat, noting that even wild animals like lions and tigers are handled without lethal methods in other countries.
