Not so long ago, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan shared information on the number of saiga antelopes culled during the so-called ‘population regulation’ period. According to the department, from 6 October 2023, the Republican State Enterprise ‘Okhotzooprom’ ‘removed’ 43,503 individuals from the natural environment.
The editorial board of FBRK decided to find out how much tinned meat was produced in Kazakhstan from the meat of the ‘removed’ saiga, what volume was exported, and what was sold on the domestic market. We sent an official request to the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan addressed to the Prime Minister, asking for the relevant data.
The Government, in turn, forwarded the request to the relevant ministries. The Ministry of Trade told us about the national standards for production, and recommended we contact the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources for specific answers.
At the Ministry of Ecology, we were told that the carcasses of saiga culled during the ‘population regulation’ process were handed over to meat processing plants. The sale of the processed meat products was carried out directly by the meat-packing plants through retail outlets.
However, the ministry stated that it supposedly ‘does not have the right to interfere in the commercial activities of meat-packing plants’ and does not have information on the amount of tinned meat produced from saiga meat.
The most detailed response we received was from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, or more precisely from the Committee for Veterinary Control and Supervision, where we were informed that during the period from 30 October to 10 December 2023, 1132 saiga carcasses were shot and delivered to the meat-packing plant Torgai Et LLP (Arkalyk). Of these, 734 carcasses were sent for processing into canned meat, while 398 were deemed unsuitable and disposed of.
The saiga carcasses were accepted by a commission at slaughter weight, including skin and head (without the internal organs of the chest and abdominal cavity), at a price of 315 tenge per kilogram.
According to management data from Torgai Et LLP, approximately 11,243 units of canned meat were produced from saiga meat, which are sold exclusively on the domestic market. The retail price for 1 can of tinned meat is 1000 tenge. As of 1 April 2024, 10,288 cans of tinned meat have been sold, with 955 cans remaining in stock.
At the same time, according to data from the same Ministry of Ecology, they involved 110 hunters and falconers in the saiga ‘removal’ operations, who were paid 7354 tenge and 8113 tenge per saiga carcass respectively.
Thus, considering the previously stated 43,503 carcasses, the state spent at least 319 million tenge on the culling of saiga, not counting associated works. And if you take into account the retail price for 1 can of tinned meat, there can be no talk of full cost recovery.
Moreover, if, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, 1132 saiga carcasses were delivered to meat-packing plants, where did the remaining 43,503 carcasses declared by the Ministry of Ecology disappear to? Either the Ministry of Ecology has once again got its figures mixed up, or over 40 thousand saiga carcasses have magically vanished. As they say, take your pick.
There is no question of transparency regarding the ‘removal’ of saiga; however, for a change, one would like to have up-to-date data based on facts, rather than the fantasies of Mr Nyssanbayev.