The head of Rosprirodnadzor Radionova spoke about the problems of saiga migration

The mass migration of saigas is not dangerous. This was announced on June 19 by the head of Rosprirodnadzor, Svetlana Radionova, in the Izvestia studio at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2025).

According to her, there has been an unusual migration of saigas this year. A huge number of individuals have independently migrated to the territory of the Russian Federation. Radionova also reported that many people perceived such an "escape" of animals as unfavorable. However, according to the expert, everything is happening as it should be.

"Let's put it this way, the saigas have not defected anywhere, migration occurs every year. Kazakhstan and I are having quite a big discussion on this topic on international platforms," she said.

As Radionova noted, saigas have not moved somewhere, their migration is a natural process. Issues related to the protection of this Red Book species are actively discussed on international platforms. According to Radionova, Kazakhstan has raised the issue of reviewing the status of saigas, as their population has significantly recovered.

"And as soon as we realize that the population is not in danger, we will lift the restrictions. With Red Books, you can't hunt them, you can't shoot them, you can't regulate their numbers. Now we understand that this is already a restored population, quite viable. And now a lot of work is underway to review the requirements of the Red Book," Radionova said.

In her opinion, such measures are extremely necessary to prevent negative consequences for agriculture and ensure harmonious coexistence with nature. Radionova stressed that the main task of the state apparatus is to find a balance between environmental protection and the interests of society, which requires a responsible approach to every aspect — from ecosystem conservation to support for the local population and their farms. It is also a constant work that involves the attention and efforts of all stakeholders.

Count sheep: social activists ask to create a unified animal data system

It is proposed to include information about domestic animals and contacts with wild and neglected ones.

Earlier, on June 4, Alexander Gavrilov, the Minister and Chairman of the Committee of Hunting and Fisheries of the Saratov region, proposed to exclude saigas from the Red List. He also cited statistics according to which almost a million individuals have come to the region from Kazakhstan this year. According to Gavrilov, due to the high growth of the animal population, residents of the region and agricultural producers are suffering.