Four residents of the Turkestan region have been convicted for illegally hunting saiga antelopes.
According to the press service of the regional courts, the defendants travelled on motorcycles to the Ulytau region to search for a missing herd of horses, taking hunting rifles with them.
They did not find the horses, but the poachers, knowing about the hunting ban, shot 15 saiga antelopes for subsequent sale. After that, they butchered the carcasses, removed the horns, and loaded the meat into a car.
The offenders were detained by employees of OJSC 'Okhotzooprom'. Significant material damage was caused to the state – more than 143 million tenge.
During the court proceedings, the defendants fully admitted their guilt and fully compensated for the damage caused.
As a result, the Karazhal City Court of the Ulytau region found the defendants guilty of illegal hunting causing significant damage to the state, as well as the illegal destruction and transportation of saiga antelopes (Article 337, Part 4, Clause 4; Article 339, Part 2, Clauses 2, 5 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
Each of the defendants was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months' imprisonment. At the same time, they were banned from engaging in hunting activities for 5 years.
For context, earlier in Kyzylorda, a group of poachers was detained with 123 carcasses of saiga antelopes. In connection with this incident, criminal cases were initiated under Article 339 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Illegal handling of rare and endangered species, as well as species of plants or animals prohibited for use, their parts or derivatives".