Legal Protection of Animals in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan

It was once famously stated by Albert Schweitzer that animal protection is education to humanity. Indeed, by protecting animals we learn to be compassionate, empathetic, and kind not only towards non-human living creatures but also towards fellow human beings. In that sense, it does represent an enlightenment in developing our emotional intelligence and tolerance. Any society where cruelty to animals is an accepted way of life will not succeed; it will not prosper. This applies to societies in Central Asian contexts as well. Multiple cases of cruelty against defenceless animals committed by representatives of the population in such countries of the region as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan ring alarm bells for their societies and states. This chapter describes the existing normative and subnormative—legislative or otherwise, provisions regulating the protection of animal life in the above-mentioned three contexts of Central Asia, and subsequently reviews the relevant gaps or omissions in that regulation. It also notes some of the prominent cases of atrocities committed against animals during the last several years in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Some suggestions are provided as to how to improve the situation with animal protection in these countries by way of adopting legal but also educational, social, and other types of measures.