Like me, you might initially be unsure about the location of Turkmenistan. Well, it’s just north of Iran and Afghanistan. It is east of the Caspian Sea and south of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It is described as a country in Central Asia and is largely covered by the Karakum Desert. I might not have helped in that description! So below is a map.
As you can probably recognise, the country is in the orbit of Russia’s influence. Going back to the Soviet Union days, before glasnost, it was regarded as a USSR satellite state. It was integrated into the Soviet Union as the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924. This followed the Russian Revolution and the subsequent Soviet expansion into Central Asia. This is important because it had an impact on cat and dog ownership and caregiving in Turkmenistan and I will address that issue initially.
The Soviet period covered 1924-1991. During this time as a Soviet republic, Turkmenistan underwent significant changes in its political, economic and social structures. Central economic planning and collectivised agriculture was instigated and secular education and industrialisation was promoted.
The Russian language was introduced as a primary language and Turkmenistan was significantly altered. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 Turkmenistan became independent in that year and since then the country has been governed by a strong authoritarian regime focusing on cultural identity.
The Soviet era had an impact on the relationship between pet cats and dogs and humans in the country. The extent of the impact is unknown but I think it’s fair to say that the cultural attitudes of Russians in Russia has left a legacy of the pet-to-human relationship in Turkmenistan.
To restate: in general, the policies and cultural shifts of the USSR deeply impacted societal attitudes towards animals and the roles they played. This shaped the post-independent dynamics of pet ownership in Turkmenistan.
During the Soviet period animals were primary valued for their practical purposes. A reference to guarding, hunting and pest control rather than as companions and entertainers. Cats were kept to manage rodent populations and dogs utilised as working animals such as guarding livestock or property.
Pets kept for emotional bonding was not strongly emphasised under Soviet culture particularly in rural areas which refers to much of Turkmenistan.
Although under the USSR urbanisation was encouraged but this resulted in many small apartments in the Soviet style which meant keeping pet cats and dogs became less practical.
And resources to support companion animal caregiving such as veterinary practices or pet supplies were and perhaps still are minimal as the Soviet government prioritised human and agricultural needs over pet welfare.
In general there was a lack of infrastructure supporting pet ownership which discouraged it across the country.
In Turkmenistan the Turkmen Alabai dog is revered but under the Soviet governance, the Russian ideology downplayed local traditions and identities which might have de-emphasised the traditional relationship with animals and the status of this dog breed.
Also, the secularisation of Turkmenistan under the Soviets might have distanced humans from certain spiritual or symbolic relationships with animals. This might have undermined the concept of pet ownership.
And there was a neglect of animal welfare as a policy under the Soviets. USSR did not place significant emphasis on animal welfare with minimal laws protecting animals from neglect or cruelty. This has persisted in many post-Soviet states which contributes to the underdevelopment of humane animal care in the states and in Turkmenistan today.
And during the Soviet era stray cats and dogs were often managed through culling rather than, in the West, the traditional TNR process for feral cats or cat rescue and rehoming via animal shelters. The concept of culling is still present in places like China notwithstanding that sometimes these animals are somebody’s pet.
However, since independence Turkmenistan has sought to re-establish national traditions including the cultural importance of the Alabai dog breed. But the broader pet culture remains underdeveloped partly due to lingering Soviet era attitudes.
And that’s the point here which is that compared to the UK for example Russia has a relatively poor animal welfare record which has been handed down to Turkmenistan. I suspect that before the Soviet area in Turkmenistan there was also a pretty rudimentary relationship between the citizens of that country and companion animals.
But in Russia their record of animal welfare is generally considered weaker compared to the UK and many Western nations with Russia historically lacking comprehensive animal welfare legislation. Russia’s anti-cruelty provisions are vague and poorly enforced and Russia has struggled with managing large populations of stray animals, relying on culling rather than humane solutions like sterilisation and adoption as mentioned. It’s important to mention this because of the satellite state status of Turkmenistan during the USSR era.
Jumping to the present, cat and dog ownership in Turkmenistan involves a cultural appreciation and a recognition of the significant challenges in that country.
Today, the Turkmenistan government promotes the breeding of their national dog, the Central Asian shepherd dog, as mentioned, known as the Alabai. There is no such special status for any cat breed. There is still this utilitarian attitude and dogs are more utilitarian than cats.
And in that country stray animals face severe difficulties. In the major municipalities frequent brutal culling campaigns take place targeting stray dogs and cats as mentioned. They are often killed inhumanely. This has drawn criticism from residents and international observers. It is reported that poisoned food is put down to kill them and other violent methods used by municipal workers according to my research.
Efforts have been made to address these issues with organisations such as Island of Hope providing shelter and care for abandoned animals. Local volunteers and families play a role in rescuing and rehabilitating stray pets.
However, these initiatives remain underfunded and they struggle against the background of systemic neglect and cruelty towards animals.
In short, there is a huge disparity between the cultural reverence of certain dog breeds and the harsh realities faced by stray and some domestic animals indicating an underdeveloped relationship between human and pet compared to that found in northern Europe, USA, and the UK for example.
Are there any national animal welfare laws in Turkmenistan? This is a question which is worth asking because it would reflect the ethical dynamics in relation to animal welfare in the country.
Turkmenistan has some legislation focused on animal welfare although it is primarily centred around specific animals like the Turkmen Alabai dog. A law enacted in 2022 promotes the preservation of traditional breeds such as this one.
Regrettably, however, broader animal welfare legislation covering all the animals in Turkmenistan is less well developed. The country does not yet have comprehensive national laws protecting animals from neglect or cruelty as seen in many other nations.
I don’t have any specific data on the number of cat and dog owning citizens in Turkmenistan. I don’t think that information exists but I suspect that compared to non-European countries and the USA the percentage of cat owning citizens in Turkmenistan is relatively low. I would suspect that dog ownership is more popular than cat ownership because dogs are more utilitarian and the legacy of utilitarianism must persist in the country.
Whereas in the US companion animal ownership is supported by extensive infrastructure such as a huge network of veterinary clinics and more than 4000 rescue services, coupled with extensive animal welfare laws, in Turkmenistan there is a lack of broad national animal welfare legislation with only limited regulations as mentioned. Protections for companion animals like cats and dogs are minimal and general ownership practices are not well regulated.
In Turkmenistan stray animal populations are often managed through culling campaigns as mentioned demonstrating a lack of systemic framework to handle them and they lack of a humane approach towards stray animals, the product of human neglect and irresponsibility.
There are veterinary clinics in Turkmenistan as one would expect but services are limited and there are few support systems of pet owners making it challenging for citizens wishing to keep and care for companion animals.
The underdevelopment of the human-to-cat and dog relationship is not only due to the Soviet era but also the fact that animals in Turkmenistan have traditionally been valued for practical purposes. This reflects many other countries where domestic animals are simply utilitarian. In the West this starting point has evolved into pets being regarded as companions with a very limited utilitarian role.
Also, there are economic restraints in Turkmenistan as the country faces economic challenges including limited access to resources and services. As to animal welfare organisations which often drive improvements in pet welfare, they are rare in Turkmenistan and they face financial and logistical obstacles.
Also, there are restrictions on foreign organisations in the country and limited freedom for local advocacy groups which have both hindered the development of a broader animal welfare framework in the country.
Also, there is a lack of public awareness campaigns about humane treatment and responsible pet ownership. These are in fact almost non-existent which is an obstacle to progress in these areas.
Conclusion? As stated, pet ownership is relatively underdeveloped in Turkmenistan compared to e.g. Northern Europe. One can’t be wholly critical of this. One can be critical of the inhumane treatment of any animals including pets in Turkmenistan but there’s an argument which states that the domestication of the wildcat, 10,000 years ago resulting in widespread cat ownership in the West and across the planet (around 500 million domestic and feral cats, estimated) has been somewhat of a failure in some regards as reflected by the very large population of feral and stray cats in the West.
Each one of these cats represents a failure in domestic cat ownership and caregiving.
Note: Please forgive any typographical errors as this article was prepared quickly. It was dictated using Dragon Dictate. The research was carried out with the assistance of artificial intelligence. This speeds things up because AI is able to scan the full sphere of the Internet in seconds. Although sometimes AI makes mistakes. I did not check the findings of AI in this instance. That’s because it is not possible really to do so because there isn’t enough information about pet ownership in Turkmenistan which is why I have written the article in the first place! This article should rank very highly in Google search engine results for that reason.
