Zoo Employees Address Prime Minister and Mayor in Letter

Employees of the Yerevan Zoo handed a letter to the Armenian Government and the Yerevan Municipality today, November 5, expressing their views regarding recent events and the resignation application of the director. This was stated by Valya Margaryan, the assistant to the zoo director, in a conversation with NEWS.am.

According to her, yesterday a meeting was convened at the zoo, after which they wrote the letter and signed it. "At the beginning of the meeting, the zoo director Ruben Khachatryan was also present, but shortly after he left, and the employees continued the meeting without him. We wrote a letter addressed to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan," she said.

The letter states that the zoo employees are against the termination of Ruben Khachatryan's powers and urge him to withdraw his resignation application within the legally prescribed period.

The letter specifically mentions: "To the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, with a copy to the Mayor of Yerevan Hayk Marutyan: We, the undersigned employees of the 'Yerevan Zoo' NGO, are compelled to address you again. We express our opinion regarding the recent events and the subsequent resignation application of our director. We unanimously declare that we are firmly AGAINST the termination of his authority and urge him to withdraw his resignation application within the legally prescribed period.

We publicly declare that the entire workforce of the 'Yerevan Zoo' NGO is working collectively and selflessly to bring the Yerevan Zoo in line with international standards, a vision developed by the current director Ruben Khachatryan back in 2011. The effectiveness of our team's and leader's work is evidenced by the annual number of visitors, which ranges from 250,000 to 300,000, a record not seen in the 80-year history of the zoo, as well as the responses from those who see the zoo now compared to eight years ago.

The development of the zoo, the significant improvement of our working conditions, the obvious enhancement of the animals' living conditions, the ongoing expansion of international cooperation, and many other positive changes have occurred through the united, dedicated efforts of our team, and we will not allow this vision to be interrupted or disturbed in any way.

Regarding the recent attacks by stray dogs on three kangaroos and mouflons in the zoo, we emphasize that even the most developed zoos in the world are not insured against such incidents. For example, two years ago, a pack of dogs killed nine kangaroos in a zoo in Rostov, as well as a similar incident in Ukraine a year ago in the Mykolaiv Zoo, and even at the Moscow Zoo, where the fact of being fenced on all sides did not prevent stray animals from entering the area and harming hoofed animals.

Such incidents, especially in recent years, should not have been a reason for dismissing the director or urging him to submit a resignation application, but rather a serious signal for funding the construction of an urgently needed fence for the zoo. It has already been four days that we, the entire staff of the zoo, have been working tirelessly, 24/7, capturing already 10 stray dogs from the premises. We acknowledge that we are breaking all possible laws from the perspective of labor rights and our rest, but we cannot allow other incidents of dog incursions.

We are also aware that the Yerevan Municipality is negotiating with individuals living in the area adjacent to the zoo about the construction of a fence, as the current terrain of the zoo has a complex relief, making it physically impossible or very difficult to build a fence along that perimeter. After all, animals in the Yerevan Zoo have periodically fallen victim to attacks by dogs and other animals since its foundation, regardless of who has served as director during those years.

Often, the qualifications of the zoo's staff, their education, and experience are questioned and exploited by a few individuals. No university prepares specialists for the zoo; rather, we, after years of working here, have mastered all the intricacies of our work through the efforts and dedication of the current director. We have undergone several free training sessions by the best specialists invited from the most developed and exemplary zoos around the world.

In this regard, the Yerevan Municipality has set a task to create a management and scientific council for the zoo, for which we have even amended the zoo's charter. Regular demonstrations and pickets by a group of 4-5 people disrupt the normal operation of the Yerevan Zoo, causing inconvenience to hundreds of visitors to the zoo and to us, as well as to tourists visiting the zoo, while simultaneously discrediting the city of Yerevan’s reputation and credibility. This group is led and directed by individuals with questionable backgrounds. Among these individuals are those who have even been involved in criminal activities reported in the international press.

Regrettably, at both the entrance of the zoo and in front of the city hall, as well as in other places, other individuals, purporting to be zoo employees or concerned citizens and “animal rights advocates,” amplify the quantity of false news and information, misleading our public. Once again, we want to declare that they are not employees of the Yerevan Zoo, and some of them, having worked in the zoo for a certain period, did so exclusively to the detriment of the zoo and to serve their murky objectives, having created privileged conditions for themselves as department heads, engaging in suspicious activities within the zoo, involved in corrupt dealings concerning animal breeding, organizing paid animal shows, the income from which has not been recorded in the zoo's budget.

All of this casts a shadow on our daily hard work, which is performed with devotion and great love, tarnishing the achievements of an entire workforce, which are evident to visitors, international partners, and the entire public.

The false information they spread suggesting that there are mass deaths of animals in the zoo has been refuted by both local and international experts.

We are confident and believe that you will make a correct and constructive decision regarding the director's resignation application. We believe that you will understand us and that this directed struggle will receive a firm response from you, and that you will express your viewpoint regarding the resignation application of the zoo director, emphasizing that the entire workforce is AGAINST removing a director who exhibits such a great dedication to his work and honors his staff.

Respectfully, with hopeful anticipation, the staff of the Yerevan Zoo.

P.S. To avoid any speculation, we, the undersigned, confirm that we are aware of the contents of this letter and that the signatures are ours. The content of this letter was discussed and accepted during the staff meeting held on November 4, 2019, at 14:00. Simultaneously, during the meeting, a decision was made to publish the text of this letter on social networks and media outlets.