Mobile groups to survey saiga lambing period in Kostanay rgn

KOSTANAY. KAZINFORM "The saiga extinction remains one of Kazakhstan's burning problems," Murat Baidildin, chief expert of the Kostanay regional territorial forestry and wildlife inspection, told a briefing on Friday. 

"The leading cause of saiga dwindling is poaching and pasteurellosis. About 100,000 saiga died in May 1981, 434,000 in 1988, 926 died in 2012, and 129,019 heads - in May 2015 as a result of pasteurellosis. Mobile groups will monitor saiga lambing period this year to survey their state and ensure their protection," he added.

"No poaching has been registered since 2016 until now in the region," he stressed. "Last year populations of saiga reached 51,700 heads. The precise number of saiga will be made clear in the second half of the year," he concluded.