The Ministry of Ecology is preparing to sell 20 tonnes of saiga antelope horns accumulated in state warehouses during the period of 'seizure'. The Minister of Ecology, Yerlan Nysynbayev, announced that the auction will be launched in just a few months. The money will go towards protecting animals — the very same ones that have been 'managed' (or simply destroyed) for years.
WHERE THE 20 TONNES CAME FROM
As reported by Kursiv, the horns enter state storage as part of the 'population management' of saiga. When the animals are culled, the horns are cut off on site, logged in the information system, handed over to local akimats, and transported under guard to Almaty — to special refrigeration units with temperature and humidity controls.
According to the minister, "every horn is numbered, marked, and has its own trace."
AUCTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BONN CONVENTION
The Ministry of Ecology is developing the sales mechanism jointly with the Ministry of Trade. Under the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Rare Ungulates, Kazakhstan is permitted to sell no more than 10 tonnes of horns per year. With a stockpile of 20 tonnes, that equates to at least two years of trading. Where the product will go and who will be eligible to participate in the bidding is, as yet, unconfirmed.
THE PARADOX: SELL TO PRESERVE
The official logic appears quite coherent: we sell what has already been obtained, and the proceeds are directed towards protecting the species. But does a state-run auction not provide a legal cover for a market that poachers were already serving illegally? Saiga horn is highly prized in traditional Asian medicine — it is this demand that has fuelled poaching for decades. Now the same product is entering the same market, but this time with a government stamp.
WHO WILL MONITOR THE MONEY
The department tasked with protecting an endangered species is simultaneously managing its culling and trading the products of that culling.
Minister Nysynbayev stated that the proceeds from the sale will go towards biodiversity conservation, protection of saiga, and the purchase of transport. Whether there will be independent oversight of how these funds are spent remains unclear.
At the same time, 20 tonnes of horns represent thousands of dead animals. The state promises to turn them into money, and the money into protection for those still alive. How long this chain will be will probably be shown not by the auction, but by what happens afterwards.
It should be recalled that the FBRK editorial team previously reported on why the official figure of 3.9 million saiga cannot be independently verified. We also wrote that railways and border fences were built against the recommendations of international experts, who warned of catastrophic consequences for the population.