President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reprimanded the Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources Serikkali Brekeshev over the decision to cull a tenth of the endangered saiga population at a government meeting on Thursday, July 14, Qazmonitor reports citing the press service of Akorda.
At the end of June, the ecology minister announced that 80,000 out of 800,000 Ural Saiga deer in the West Kazakhstan region will be shot in the fall season due to conflicts between the drastically increasing population with the agriculture and farm industry.
The statement caused outrage on social media with people voicing concerns over reducing the number of an already endangered species.
President Tokayev called for the ministry of ecology to take responsibility for the public outcry and consider a more environmentally, and culturally, conscious alternative.
"We need to approach this issue professionally by considering the mentality of our people. The saiga is a sacred animal for the Kazakhs", said the President.
"There are, apparently, other methods. Consult with experts. The one you propose is an extreme measure. I do not exclude that we may have to resort to it. But I repeat: this is an extreme measure.”
The saiga is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Their numbers are estimated to have reached 1.3 million, according to the ministry of ecology. About 95% of the total species count in the world inhabit the steppes in the territory of Kazakhstan.
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