A 44-year-old man in the Kashkadarya province has been sentenced to four years and six months in prison for trafficking donkey meat.
According to reports, the man was caught committing the exact same offense twice within a three-month period. During the first raid on his home, authorities discovered 112 donkey hides alongside 61 kilograms of meat deemed unfit for human consumption.
At the time, the court sentenced him to two years of restricted freedom (probation). Shortly after, inspectors uncovered nearly 250 kilograms of donkey meat, animal remains, and roughly one hundred additional hides. Despite this second offense, the court initially refrained from handing down a prison sentence.
The Kashkadarya Province Prosecutor's Office appealed the ruling, arguing that the punishment was far too lenient. The judicial panel agreed with the oversight body's arguments, overturning the previous decision and sentencing the man to a maximum-security prison colony.
This case follows a recent debate in the Legislative Chamber regarding a draft bill that accidentally included donkeys on a list of livestock raised for meat. Following widespread public backlash, officials removed the animals from the list, attributing the inclusion to a technical error by the press service.
Stay up to date with all the latest news:
