The Committee for Hunting and Fishing of the Saratov Region proposed on June 4 the removal of the saiga antelope from the Red Book of the Russian Federation due to a massive influx of the species into the region from Kazakhstan. This migration has led to a significant increase in the saiga population, causing problems for local residents and agricultural producers.

According to the committee, the explosive growth of the saiga population, estimated at almost a million individuals, is damaging the region’s agricultural resources. The saiga, a cloven-hoofed mammal and ancient representative of the mammoth fauna, has faced near extinction several times in the 20th century.

Alexander Gavrilov, Minister of the Saratov Region – Chairman of the Committee for Hunting and Fishing, stated that the situation has become critical.

In response to similar population concerns, Kazakhstan is considering allowing the hunting of female saigas to control their numbers. Yerlan Nysanbayev, the Minister of Ecology of the Republic, mentioned a past instance where allowed hunting resulted in numerous saiga carcasses with removed horns, leading to the current focus on only permitting the culling of females.