A video showing Almaty residents walking an animal that appears to be a fox on a leash has spread rapidly across social media. The Forestry and Wildlife Committee commented on the incident, infohub.kz reports.
User olya_kadralinova posted the clip on Threads, after which it quickly spread to other platforms. The footage shows a man calmly walking along one of Almaty's streets with an animal that looks suspiciously like a fox, while a young woman nearby walks a dog.
"A man is walking a fox on a leash, next to him a girl with a dog on a leash. As if nothing unusual. What?! A fox?" the author of the post wrote.
Commenters split into two camps: some were charmed by the animal, while others joked about it. Among the remarks were: "The fox is like: 'Let's just say I'm a dog and I can go for walks on a leash.' So cute"; "Foxes are part of the canine family, so nothing unusual"; "It's a corgi."
Some commenters admitted that such companions frightened them. They wrote that a fox is a wild animal and its bite can be dangerous.
The Forestry and Wildlife Committee told a NUR.KZ correspondent that it had reviewed the information about the video showing a fox walking through the streets of Almaty.
"On this matter, the Almaty Regional Territorial Inspectorate of Forestry and Wildlife has been instructed, together with law enforcement agencies, to conduct an appropriate inspection and work through this issue. At the same time, we note that the fox is a representative of wild fauna and belongs to wildlife objects. To keep it in captivity in accordance with the established procedure, an appropriate permit for the use of wildlife objects is required," the committee said.
The agency also noted that current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of protection, reproduction and use of wildlife does not contain a direct ban on walking wild animals in public places.