Farmers in Russia’s southern Saratov region have appealed directly to President Vladimir Putin for assistance in dealing with a mass invasion of saiga antelopes from neighbouring Kazakhstan.

The farmers say the unprecedented end-of-May migration of an estimated half a million antelopes was devastating crops and threatening water safety. Saratov is one of Russia’s most critical grain-producing regions.

The appeal to Putin, published across farming channels on social network Telegram, described the influx as an absolute crisis.

“We hope for your understanding and assistance in resolving this situation, which threatens the very existence of agriculture in our region,” the farmers wrote to Putin in a formal letter, seen by Reuters.

“Their migration area has significantly expanded... No one is asking them for passports,” the news service quoted Evgeny Karabanov, head of the analytics committee at Kazakhstan’s Grain Union, as saying in a comment on the rapid growth in saiga populations. The fact that the saiga, formerly listed as a critically endangered species, was thriving was a conservation triumph, he said.

Saigas are known for their distinctive bulbous noses. They are now said to number up to 4.5mn in Kazakhstan and around a million in Russia. Culling of the animal remains prohibited in both countries due to its conservation status.

Saratov lies along the Volga River. It produces approximately 4mn tonnes of grain annually, around 3.5% of Russia’s total grain output.

Farmers have reported significant damage to crops and infrastructure, alongside environmental concerns caused by the Saiga migration. Thousands of saigas have reportedly drowned in local rivers, raising fears of water contamination.

The formal letter to Russia’s leader was signed by the owners of Saratov’s largest farms. One worry is that damage caused by saigas is not covered under Russia’s agricultural insurance framework. The animal is not classified as an agricultural pest, leaving farmers with no recourse for compensation.

Ministry of Agriculture officials for Saratov confirmed on June 4 that commissions to assess the damage have been formed and support mechanisms were under preparation. However, no details of a coordinated federal response have yet been released.

Saiga antelopes were reduced to as few as 25,000 in Kazakhstan in the 1990s, but state protection and anti-poaching efforts reversed their decline.

Kazakh farmers have previously voiced similar concerns about the growing saiga population.

Kazakhstan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Erlan Nysanbayev has, meanwhile, announced that the Kazakh authorities are looking into the possibility of selectively culling female saigas, The Times of Central Asia reported on June 4. It is unclear, whether this announcement was in some way a response to the complaints coming from Russian farmers.