Prince William highlights Kazakhstan’s saiga comeback on BBC show
William, Prince of Wales, mentioned Kazakhstan during an appearance on «The Graham Norton Show,» a popular BBC talk show. He spoke about the saiga antelope and how the country brought the species back from the brink of extinction.
An antelope with a «cute face»
Graham Norton hosts the show, which has aired on the BBC since 2007. Guests sit on a sofa and share stories, with conversations often veering off the main topic. During the conversation with Prince William, a photo of a saiga suddenly appeared on screen, and the host asked him to explain what kind of animal it was.
The Prince of Wales highlighted the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, a program dedicated to protecting steppe ecosystems, including saiga antelope conservation.
«This antelope was critically endangered, but now it is back in huge numbers all because the government of Kazakhstan appreciated and realized how important this species was to the name of the country and the conservation. They threw their full weight behind it,» he said.
A different challenge back home
Meanwhile, the huge success of saiga conservation has brought another problem for Kazakhstan, as farmers complain that millions of animals are destroying their crops. Since April 2025, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Defense, in collaboration with the Kazakh Academy of Nutrition, has considered adding saiga meat and processed saiga products to the official food rations of the Armed Forces.
The National Security Committee (KNB) and the Ministry of Emergency Situations have also said they are willing to revise their dietary standards to include canned saiga meat in rations for their personnel.
The proposal aimed to address saiga overpopulation. However, no final decision has been reached yet.
