Russian occupiers export animals from the territory of the Askania-Nova biosphere reserve to the territory of the aggressor country and the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula.
12 rare Chapman's zebras have already been taken out of the reserve. Seven of them settled in a private zoo. Viktor Shapoval, the legal director of the reserve, told about this in an interview with “Vgoru”.
At first it was reported about 7 stolen animals, but in a few days their number reached 12.
According to Shapoval , these are expensive and exotic animals. That is why this species is of interest to a private businessman, the director of the Taigan lion park Oleg Zubkov.
The key thing is that they are transported to a private collection… All actions of the occupation administration “Askania-Nova” are illegal, as well as the very fact of their stay there, – said Shapoval.
According to him, the Ukrainian side records, verifies and transmits information to the relevant authorities. The damage caused is calculated by the State Ecological Inspection.
The value of the animals was also approved by the decision of the legal scientific council, and today they are the most valuable in the zoo's collection, Viktor Shapoval noted.
The territory where the reserve is located Askania-Nova was occupied by the Russian army on the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the end of March 2023, the occupation authorities established complete control over it.