Article for cattle rustling suggested keeping in Criminal Code

The article for cattle rustling is suggested to be left in the Criminal Code. The Ministry of the Interior has made relevant amendments to the public discussion.

It is noted that the law of December 28, 2016 adopted a new edition of the Criminal Code, in which cattle rustling is not singled out as a separate article. This crime is covered by Article 200 as «theft» (for crimes exceeding 10,000 soms) and Article 90 as «small theft» (damage up to 10,000 soms).

«Given the urgency of cattle in Kyrgyzstan, where more than 90 percent of the territory is mountainous and about 70 percent of the population is engaged in livestock production, the proposal to exclude the article «Cattle rustling» from the Criminal Code is a hasty and premature step. A cattle rustling is the most common type of crime, which deprives citizens of the main source of income. There are examples where in the villages some families live at the expense of keeping one cow. And the theft of livestock causes significant damage,» the Ministry of Internal Affairs noted.

In this regard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs proposes to leave a separate article in the Criminal Code for cattle rustling.