Friday, June 15, 2012 -
Dozens of the endangered Central Asian antelope, called the saiga, were found shot to death in a Kazakh field this week.
Authorities estimate that 60 of the endangered animals were killed, with their horns cut off, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Friday.
The discovery comes mere weeks after hundreds of saiga were found dead in the northern Kazakh province of Kostanai. In late May, authorities said 500 of the animals were found lifeless and were believed to have died from pasteurollosis.
Days later, another 400 were also discovered near the same location.
In 2010, 12,000 saigas were found dead in Western Kazakhstan, with pasteurellosis believed to be the cause.
There are only 100,000 saigas left in the region, down from the millions estimated to have lived on the steppe in 1900.
In an effort to bolster saiga numbers, Kazakhstan has banned saiga hunting until 2020, but still struggles with poachers hunting the endangered antelope.