Russians illegally removed animals from the reserve “Askania-Nova”

The occupation administration of the “Askania-Nova” biosphere reserve, located in the Kherson region, illegally exported red-listed animals to Russia.

This was announced by the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Ruslan Strilets.

According to him, the Russians are spreading information that they have carried out an illegal exchange between the Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve, the Rostovsky Natural Biosphere Reserve and the association for the preservation and restoration of rare and endangered animal species “Living Nature of the Steppe”.

“Several individuals of Chapman’s zebra, American bison, Przewalski’s horses and David’s deer were taken out of the Askania-Nova zoo,” said Ruslan Strelets.

The Minister of Environment noted that all these species are listed in the Red Book and included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The status of these animals is “extinct from nature”, “endangered” and “close to endangered”.

“Instead, kanna antelopes, domestic yaks, two-humped camels and one guanaco were brought to the Askania-Nova zoo,” he added.

The Ministry of Environment is already preparing notes for the secretariats of the environmental conventions: Bern, Ramsar, UNESCO, Bonn Convention, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Cites secretariat.

In November 2023, the director of “Ascania-Nova” warned that the threat of removal of animals from the reserve was real.