In Kazakhstan, plans are being made to no longer issue permits for the culling of saiga antelopes.
The Committee for Forestry and Wildlife has prepared an amendment to the rules for the provision of the state service "Issuance of permits for the removal of animal species whose numbers are subject to regulation". Specifically, this concerns a ban on the culling of the steppe antelope.
The document has been published on the website "Open NPA" for public consultation until 8 May.
For context, earlier President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, at a meeting with villagers from the Kostanay region affected by flooding, promised that he would ban the so-called "removal" of the saiga population, calling them symbols of the Kazakh steppe.