Kazakhstan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Erlan Nysanbayev, has announced that the government is considering allowing the selective culling of female saiga antelopes in response to their rapidly expanding population.
Once listed as an endangered species, the saiga antelope population in Kazakhstan plummeted to fewer than 40,000 by 2005 due to overhunting and habitat loss. In response, the government imposed strict hunting bans and conservation measures, which allowed the species to rebound significantly, reaching an estimated 1.3 million animals in recent years.
However, by the end of 2024, the saiga population had reportedly reached 4 million, prompting renewed debate over population control. Farmers have raised concerns about crop destruction and the risk of disease transmission from saigas intermingling with livestock on shared pastures.
“We have vast expanses of land, but not enough inspectors to monitor every hunter,” Nysanbayev said during a briefing at the Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament. “We had a negative experience previously, when hunting was permitted, the steppe was littered with saiga carcasses, their horns sawed off. So, we are now considering allowing hunting only for females, possibly exclusively for females. But the technical implementation is still under discussion with hunting organizations.”
Processing Infrastructure Ready
Nysanbayev also stated that meat from culled saigas would be sold in commercial outlets. According to the ministry, 13 meat-processing facilities across regions populated by saigas, West Kazakhstan, Atyrau, Aktobe, Kostanay, Akmola, Karaganda, and Pavlodar, are prepared to handle up to 3,700 animals daily following recent inspections.
The final decision on the culling plan awaits a biological justification from the Institute of Zoology. Experts will assess the ecological viability of the measure before the government proceeds.
Regional Conservation Efforts
While Kazakhstan is considering population control measures for saigas due to their rapid rebound, neighboring Kyrgyzstan is focused on species recovery. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that in May 2025, Kyrgyzstan launched a conservation initiative to reintroduce the jayran, or goitered gazelle, a species also listed in the Red Book, along the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul.
