Video footage is circulating online showing a man sitting with a weapon next to a dead lion, urging Kazakh citizens to take part in a hunt for Africa's largest predators.
According to the Telegram channel «Злобная татешка», the man in the video stated that from 2025, lion hunting will become significantly more expensive.
"Hello, Kazakh people. As I have already said, lion hunting will be restricted from 2025. Those who knew about this came here, and several lions have been shot. You still have time until 2025. Prices will skyrocket from 2025. Remember this. You have time until the New Year", the statement reads.
Journalists, in turn, noted that this can hardly be called hunting.
"On special farms, animals raised among humans are sent to their deaths, leaving no chance of escape. Lions are placed in small enclosed areas from which they cannot flee. Sometimes they are lured with bait or even injected with tranquillisers to make it easier for hunters to kill them", the statement reads.
As has been revealed, the price for killing a male lion starts from $18,000. It is reported that in some cases, for an additional fee, hunters are even allowed to shoot lion cubs.
Let us recall that at the end of July, entrepreneur and hunter Batyr Seikenov posted a video on social media, in which he showed an invitation in German for licensed hunting of saiga antelope in Kazakhstan.
The document stated that the population of the steppe antelope had recovered, and as a result, the purchase of a hunting licence was now available to foreigners for the first time. It was reported that the hunting season would run from September to November. The hunting location was 800 km from Aktau.
This so-called 'permit' is a package tour for three people, including 7 nights, 5 hunting days, transfers, accommodation, hunting excursions and so on. The price of the 'permit' was €7,990 (approximately 4.3 million tenge).
The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, in turn, denied the information about a licensed saiga hunt supposedly offered to foreign enthusiasts to shoot at live targets.
At the same time, the editorial team of FBRK has compiled a full chronology of the campaign to 'remove' saiga from their natural habitat. It can be viewed via this link.