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Yerevan Mayor’s Press Secretary Artyom Karapetyan has issued a statement commenting on public discussions surrounding the decision to transfer animals belonging to businessman and Prosperous Armenia party leader Gagik Tsarukyan to Yerevan Zoo.
“The Yerevan Municipality’s proposal to transfer Gagik Tsarukyan’s animals to the zoo has been one of the most discussed topics over the past two days. The main narrative has been to link the investigative actions involving the businessman and political party leader with the proposal to provide what was, at this stage, perhaps the safest and most appropriate shelter for the animals. The most absurd claim has been to portray the unfortunate death of one of the animals as an act of political retaliation.
“Yes, it was deeply regrettable that one of the animals, the lioness, did not recover from sedation. However, this is a matter for professional discussion regarding the procedures followed and any possible mistakes that may have occurred. Such issues can be debated from both subjective and objective perspectives. At the same time, it was hardly difficult to foresee that the lioness’s death would be politicised and portrayed as intentional, giving rise to an entire conspiracy theory. That reflects not so much concern as manipulation — using a tragic incident to quickly construct a narrative, target individuals and simply demonise them.
“Leaving aside the debatable issue of keeping large numbers of wild animals on private property, one fact should be acknowledged: as a result of the legal proceedings, the animals had to be transferred to the only facility in the country where they could be reintegrated and remain under the continuous care and supervision of specialists. That was the sole reason behind both the proposal and the transfer — not political, but purely motivated by animal welfare,” the statement reads.
Earlier, Armenia’s Investigative Committee decided, as part of criminal proceedings involving businessman and Prosperous Armenia party leader Gagik Tsarukyan, to seize three lions, four tigers and nine crocodiles from his residence. At the proposal of Yerevan Municipality, the animals were placed in the custody of Yerevan Zoo. The lions and tigers were sedated before being transferred to the zoo, but one of the lions did not recover from the sedation and died.