It is estimated that some 25 to 30 animals are illegally hunted (mainly for local subsistence use) each year. Should this trend continue into the future, the current small population might experience further decline, seriously threatening its survival. In the period 2000-2002, due to repeated dzuds, the saiga population significantly decreased by over 80 per cent to 1,020 at the end of2002, and further declined, due to poaching, to 750 in 2004.