Saiga antelopes are ancient steppe mammals that experienced catastrophic mass die-off events and face ongoing welfare challenges from disease, hunting, and habitat loss across Central Asia.
Saiga welfare is periodically devastated by mass mortality events that cause rapid, widespread suffering at a scale difficult to comprehend. The 2015 die-off killed 200,000 animals in days — a welfare catastrophe with no human analogue in companion or farmed animal settings. Animals died with symptoms of hemorrhagic septicemia including bleeding from the nose, loss of coordination, and collapse. The bacterial trigger appears to be climate-sensitive, suggesting future events may increase in frequency with warming. Between die-offs, poaching for horns continues to cause individual suffering through snaring, shooting, and orphaning of dependent calves. Ranger protection and international cooperation on horn trade enforcement are critical welfare and conservation interventions.