Russians remove animals from the reserve “Askania-Nova”

During the period of its occupation, 10 animals were illegally taken out of the Biosphere Reserve “Askania-Nova”, including Przewalski’s horses, Chapman’s zebras, American bison, and deer.

Viktor Shapoval, director of the Falz-Fein Askaniya-Nova Biosphere Reserve of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, told about this.

“10 animals were illegally taken out of the Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve during its occupation,” said Shapoval.

In particular, according to him, on December 1, 2023, the occupation administration of the reserve carried out an illegal “exchange” of animals of the Zoological Park “Askania-Nova” with the State Natural Biosphere Reserve “Rostovsky” and the Association for the Preservation and Restoration of Rare and Endangered Animal Species “Living Nature of the Steppe” (city of Rostov-on-Don), as part of previously signed “agreements on creative cooperation”.

As Shapoval said, two Chapman’s zebras, two American bison, two Przewalski’s horses, and one David’s deer were taken from the collection of the “Askania-Nova” zoo. It is also known that another David’s deer was injured and died during the race.

At the same time, as the current head of the biosphere reserve noted, two male kanna antelopes, two two-humped camels, and a male guanaco were brought to the Askania zoo.

“Another fact of the removal of animals from Askania-Nova was recorded on April 23, 2024. Three individuals of Chapman’s zebra from the collection of the Zoological Park “Askania-Nova” were illegally exported to the Republic of Crimea as part of the “exchange” of animals with the private Yalta Zoo “Kazka” and the Lion Park “Taigan” (director Zubkov),” Shapoval noted.

Instead, a male alpaca, female yaks and chamois goats, Vietnamese pigs, pygmy rams, pelicans and bustards were brought to the “Ascania-Nova” biosphere reserve.

As Shapoval emphasized, “judging by the list of the “exchange fund”, private entrepreneur Zubkov can be quite satisfied with the result.”

Regarding “exchanges”, Shapoval notes that the question is not in the plane of exchange equivalence, but common species of animals are brought to the reserve “Askania-Nova”. “These are illegal actions regardless of profit! But it is necessary to understand that rare wild species of animals with protective status are exchanged for common domesticated species,” he noted.

Shapoval emphasized that Przewalski’s horses, which are kept in Askania-Nova, are listed in the International Stud Book, and the Askania-Nova Zoo is a participant in the European Program for the Preservation of Endangered Species of Animals (EER) in terms of the preservation of this species. In addition, Przewalski’s horse is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and the IUCN Red List (“extinct from nature”), as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, Category I). In addition, David’s deer and American bison are species included in the IUCN Red List with the status of “endangered” and “near threatened” respectively.

As Ukrinform reported, at the end of March 2023, the occupation authorities established full control over the Askania-Nova biosphere reserve. The further preservation of the nature protection and research institution of international importance cannot be ensured by the Ukrainian administration and is under immediate threat.

Since the beginning of the occupation, the entire biodiversity of the “Askania-Nova” Biosphere Reserve has been under threat, because the uncontrolled movement of Russian troops, fires and shelling are taking place on the territory, which is incompatible with the tasks of nature protection.

On October 10, 2023, a “cooperation agreement” was concluded between the captured reserve in the person of the self-proclaimed director Meshcheryakov and the Yalta Zoo, in the person of the director-collaborator Zubkov, with a call to exchange animals of the zoological park “Askania-Nova” with the zoos of the Russian Federation spreading in the occupation resources. in particular, it refers to rare and protected species from the list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – Przewalski’s horse, saiga and Turkmen kulan.

The current head of the Biosphere Reserve emphasized that similar actions of “animal exchange” would be a gross violation of the CITES Convention, ratified by the Ukrainian parliament (similarly, Russia is a signatory party).