In light of news about the mass die-off of horses in regions of Kazakhstan, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan visited the Ulytau region for an inspection.
"Upon arrival in the Zhanarqin district, the delegation established that due to adverse weather conditions, precipitation in December 2023 and February 2024, followed by a drop in temperature, as well as icing of pasturelands, grazing horses on winter pasture (tebenevka) was hindered, leading to the emaciation and death of young and old animals. According to the FID database, the district has 84,300 head of horses." – the ministry's press service reports.
____________
For reference: FID is a portal and database for assigning an individual identification number to agricultural animals. Through this procedure, each animal receives a passport specifying its sex, age, colour, and owner's details.
Ministry of Agriculture representatives reported that between the village of Zhanarqin and the city of Karazhal, the death of 23 horses was registered; these horses did not have identification numbers and were not registered in the FID.
At the same time, 44 dead horses without identification numbers were found in the Zhanarqin district. The Ministry of Agriculture stated that no reports regarding the death of horses had been submitted to the district veterinary stations. Thus, ministry staff could not identify the 67 perished animals, nor determine their owners.
Furthermore, the department denies information about the death of 2,000 horses in the Ulytau region, including nearly half of the entire herd in the Zhanarqin district.
It may be recalled that earlier it was reported that farmers in the Aqmola region asked to save livestock dying in the steppe and urgently declare a state of emergency. There, horses were dying of starvation right on the winter pastures – abnormal weather left them unable to reach the grass under the icy snow. According to veterinarians, at least 200 horses are already known to have died.