Tengrinews.kz – Six meat processing plants in the West Kazakhstan region are ready to begin processing saiga meat, with the largest facility located in Uralsk, according to 24KZ.
In addition to Uralsk, the meat plants are located in the Zhangalinsky, Zhanibeksky, Kaztalovsky, and Baiterek districts.
In the near future, the region will launch a population control program for the steppe antelope, aiming to remove 20 percent of the total population, which currently stands at 460,000 animals. Four Okhotzooprom brigades will be responsible for the culling.
“The Ministry of Agriculture has regulated all state standards. We can process canned goods, we can sell them in stores. All necessary procedures have been completed. Therefore, we will focus primarily on processing,” said Kalyar Aitmukhambetov, Deputy Akim of the West Kazakhstan region.
For context, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nyssanbayev previously announced that Kazakhstan would regulate the saiga population, following complaints from farmers in the West Kazakhstan region who said the animals were destroying crops and displacing livestock.