Animal Welfare in Central Asian Nomadic Systems 2025
Livestock welfare challenges and opportunities in the pastoral traditions of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and surrounding regions
Overview: Central Asian nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralism supports tens of millions of livestock across vast steppe, mountain, and semi-desert ecosystems. These traditional systems present a distinctive welfare profile — in some ways offering animals natural behavior expression unavailable in intensive systems, while presenting acute challenges around seasonal feed scarcity, veterinary access, harsh climate events, and traditional practices that can cause significant suffering.
Pastoral Systems and Animal Numbers
Livestock in Central Asian Pastoral Systems (2025):
• Kazakhstan: ~20 million sheep, ~9 million cattle, ~3 million horses
• Kyrgyzstan: ~6 million sheep, ~1.5 million cattle, ~600,000 horses
• Mongolia: ~70 million livestock (sheep, goats, horses, cattle, camels)
• Tajikistan: ~5 million sheep and goats
• Turkmenistan: ~16 million sheep (Karakul breed dominant)
Welfare Strengths of Nomadic Systems
Traditional nomadic pastoralism offers some genuine welfare advantages over intensive systems:
- Animals have extensive space and freedom of movement across seasonal pastures
- Natural social groupings maintained — herds and flocks with normal social structures
- Species-appropriate natural behavior expression: grazing, foraging, social play
- Horses in particular often live relatively natural lives compared to stabled systems
- Breed diversity preserves locally-adapted animals with genuine climate resilience
Key Welfare Challenges
Dzud Events (Mongolia)
Dzud — severe winter events with deep snow, ice crust, or extreme cold preventing livestock from accessing forage — are the most catastrophic welfare events in Central Asian pastoralism. The 2023–2024 dzud killed an estimated 7.1 million livestock in Mongolia, with animals dying from starvation and cold over days to weeks — prolonged suffering at massive scale.
Critical Concern: Climate change is increasing dzud frequency and severity. Without insurance systems, supplementary feed reserves, and emergency response capacity, millions of livestock face preventable death by starvation and cold exposure in coming decades.
Veterinary Access
Remote pastoral communities often have minimal access to veterinary services. Disease outbreaks spread rapidly through unvaccinated herds; wounds and injuries go untreated; common conditions causing chronic pain (foot rot, parasites, dental problems) are unaddressed. Community animal health worker programs are expanding but remain insufficient.
Traditional Practices
Several traditional practices raise welfare concerns:
- Castration of male livestock without anesthesia using traditional methods
- Traditional slaughter methods (including throat-cutting without prior stunning) for ceremonial and everyday use
- Horse training using harsh methods in some traditional contexts
- Karakul lamb pelt production (Astrakhan) — newborn or even fetal lambs killed for fur
Karakul/Astrakhan Fur
Karakul (Persian lamb) fur comes from fetal or newborn lambs. The youngest and finest pelts come from fetuses removed by cesarean section from pregnant ewes. This practice causes severe welfare harm; international campaigns have pressured major fashion brands to stop sourcing Karakul fur, with significant market impact.
Progress: Major fashion houses including Chanel, Gucci, Prada, and Burberry have banned Karakul fur. Demand has dropped significantly, though production continues for remaining markets.
Horse Welfare
Central Asian cultures have deep traditions of horsemanship. Horses are used for transportation, herding, milk production (koumiss — fermented mare's milk), and meat. Welfare varies enormously:
- Horses in traditional pastoral settings often live relatively natural lives with good social grouping
- Working horses in agricultural contexts may be overworked without adequate feed, water, or veterinary care
- Racing horses in regional competitions face training and racing welfare concerns
- Mare milking for koumiss production is increasing commercially; welfare standards for milking mares are largely absent
Bactrian Camels
Wild Bactrian camels (Camelus ferus) are Critically Endangered with fewer than 1,000 remaining in the wild. Domestic Bactrian camels remain important to pastoral economies in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and China. Working camel welfare — overloading, inadequate water in arid conditions, harsh handling — remains a concern.
2025 Priorities
- Expand dzud emergency preparedness and response systems in Mongolia and Kazakhstan
- Scale community animal health worker programs across remote pastoral regions
- Develop culturally appropriate anesthesia protocols for traditional castration
- Eliminate Karakul fetal fur production through market and regulatory pressure
- Build mare milking welfare standards into growing koumiss industry
- Support climate adaptation programs protecting pastoral livestock from intensifying dzud events