Citing the urgent need to protect the endangered species and wildlife in general, President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, signed new amendments to the country’s wildlife protection law yesterday, banning Uzbeks from keeping certain species of exotic animals as pets.
Uzbekistan‘s lawmakers have adopted new amendments in May and the country’s Senate confirmed them in August.
New changed to the law have been designed to preserve the wildlife “as well as protect and use biodiversity,” and will be used as the basis for “ensuring stable living conditions and preserving natural populations of wild animals, especially their rare and endangered species.”
Uzbekistan’s authorities have already severely increased the penalties for animal cruelty, poaching, water pollution, and improper waste disposal, citing environmental concerns.
The full list of species granted special protection under the new law has not yet been made public, but according to local media sources, quoting the Ministry of the Environment in turn, “more than fifty” endangered wildlife species will be covered, including lions, tigers, crocodiles, together with the certain species of bears, fish, snakes, and insects.
Uzbekistan is a landlocked country that sits on the ancient Silk Road trade route, bordering Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. It has a population of 36 million, concentrated primarely in several major cities in the south and the southeast. About 80% of Uzbekistan’s territory is classified as a desert.
