The General Prosecutor's Office reports that 14,000 cattle infected with foot-and-mouth disease were concealed in the Akmolinsk region.

“Outbreaks of dangerous animal diseases reveal an episodic situation in the country. Just last year, an anthrax outbreak affected four regions: Akmolinsk, Zhambyl, Turkestan, and Karaganda. A hundred heads of livestock were lost, 37 people were infected, and one died. Similar cases have been reported this year in Kostanay, Almaty, and Zhambyl regions. Over the past three years, more than 900 outbreaks of particularly dangerous diseases have been registered. This is only the official count; much remains hidden. This is confirmed by the results of our inspection,” said Bauyrzhan Mukashev at a meeting of the Mazhilis Committee on Agrarian Issues regarding the development of the veterinary system.

According to him, the inspection results of the veterinary control and supervision committee and its subordinate organizations revealed that in 2022, in Akmolinsk region, foot-and-mouth disease had been concealed — 14 thousand heads of cattle.

“Such facts were also present in three other regions. Prosecutors have uncovered about 3 million unaccounted livestock. As a result, budget planning is done blindly, vaccination and diagnosis statistics are fabricated, and 30 thousand fake certificates have been selectively identified. De facto, I believe the number is somewhat higher. An investigation has been initiated into the purchase of low-quality vaccines and inflated prices amounting to 2 billion tenge. The investigation has been assigned to the Anti-Corruption Agency,” Mukashev stated.

He added that there is inadequate control over the entire process of livestock product entry into domestic market trading facilities, and the population continues to slaughter livestock outside of slaughterhouses in private yards, violating sanitary norms.

“As a result, products of unknown quality and origin continue to appear on the shelves. Random inspections have revealed 5 thousand counterfeit certificates for meat products, including in the capital’s markets,” concluded the prosecutor.