The Caspian seal is among the rare species facing the threat of extinction due to excessive hunting.
In Kazakhstan and Russia seal hunting licenses are issued, but “we must prohibit hunting to preserve this endangered species,” Mehr news agency quoted Vahid Kheirabadi, the head of Wildlife Administration at the Department of Environment in Golestan, as saying. The seals’ safe birthing place has been destroyed in Russia and Turkmenistan. Seal meat is used in fox breeding farms in Russia, and Turkmen people believe that the fat under the seal skin is good for treating arthritis.
