About 300 sheep die in second “mystery” mass death at same Armenian village

About 300 sheep and lambs have died in unexplained circumstances at a sheep pen in Tsaghkunk village, Gegharkunik Province, marking the second such incident at the same location this year, local officials told Armenpress.

The animals were found piled on top of one another in several layers, with those underneath dead and showing nasal bleeding, while those in the upper layers were alive and active.

Radik Manukyan, head of the Agriculture Department of the Sevan municipal administration, said the incident was recorded early on September 17 at the sheep pen of Tsaghkunk resident Gurgen Gevorgyan.

A similar incident occurred at the same location on June 6, when 208 sheep died. The animals had not been mauled, and no puncture or scratch marks were found on their carcasses.

This time, too, it is difficult to link the incident to a wolf attack, Manukyan said. The number of dead sheep was higher, reaching about 300.

“Gurgen Gevorgyan keeps his own sheep and those belonging to villagers at his sheep pen. Early in the morning, he noticed that the sheep had gathered on top of one another, some of them no longer moving. It is difficult to determine at this point what caused the sheep to die. The only fact is that these 300 sheep had been crowded into an area of 20–25 square meters, piled on top of one another in several layers. The animals in the upper layer were alive and in a viable condition, while those found in the lower layers were lifeless and had nasal bleeding,” Manukyan said.

Police officers from Sevan and Rescue Service personnel from Armenia’s Interior Ministry, representatives of the Gegharkunik governor’s office and the Sevan community administration, the community veterinarian and specialists from other relevant agencies arrived at the site early in the morning.

“For now, we are having difficulty solving this mystery, which has occurred for the second time in the same year. In any case, Tsaghkunk’s sheep-farming households have suffered serious losses, while the shepherd, Gurgen Gevorgyan, has found himself in a difficult situation as a result of this disaster. He has four children in his care and is socially vulnerable. The meat of the dead sheep was unfit for consumption and was completely destroyed. The extent of the losses is being determined,” Manukyan said.