Occupiers transported 2 Chapman’s zebras, 2 American bisons, 2 Przewalski’s horses, and a Père David’s deer from the Askania-Nova biosphere reserve to russia. Another Père David’s deer was injured during transportation and died.
All species of animals taken by the russians from Askania-Nova are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and have the statuses of “extinct in the wild,” “critically endangered,” or “endangered.” Instead of the Red Book animals, the russians brought to the Ukrainian reserve common elands, yaks, Bactrian camels, and guanacos.
The occupiers claim that they made this exchange based on “cooperation agreements”. In fact, these agreements were signed by a russian protege in the reserve, not the current director Viktor Shapoval, so the animals were taken illegally.
The UAnimals team is reporting this latest russian crime against Ukraine’s nature as part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project. russia should be held accountable for all its crimes!
Image: Chapman’s zebras
Photo by: Yuliia Savchenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
