Environmental Officials Caught Poaching in Syunik

Recently, the Environmental and Mining Inspectorate announced a possible illegal hunting incident in Syunik. According to EcoNews.am, participants in the illegal hunting of a wild boar included Armen Bavoyan, the head of the Ararat territorial division of the Environmental and Mining Inspectorate, Artak Mkhitaryan, the deputy director for protection of the Khosrov Forest State Reserve, and the head of 'Max Fish' LLC. Bavoyan was scheduled to conduct an inspection at this company shortly. It is noteworthy how the head of the supervisory body and the 'owner' of a private fish farm under inspection found themselves in Syunik, in a vehicle containing illegally hunted wild boar meat.

In a conversation with EcoNews.am, Artak Sahakyan, the head of the Syunik territorial division of the Environmental and Mining Inspectorate, confirmed the information, stating that there were four people in the vehicle, one of whom was indeed the head of the Ararat territorial division. 'As a result of our inspections, there was suspicion that the vehicle was in the region for illegal hunting. Following the movement of the vehicle, suspicions arose that they had committed illegal hunting and were attempting to leave. We contacted the police to report that the vehicle with the specified license plates was suspected of illegal hunting. The vehicle was stopped and searched in the Sisian district, and it was found to contain 26.5 kg of packaged frozen meat. The individuals in the vehicle had hunting firearms and ammunition registered in their names. The police then invited us to clarify what type of meat it was. Upon inspection, it was determined that the seized meat was wild boar, in a frozen state,' he elaborated.

Mr. Sahakyan mentioned that there are currently some difficulties in calculating the damage because specific location details are still lacking. It is also likely that the hunting was conducted in a specially protected natural area, which would further increase the severity of the penalty. 'They were caught on February 22; in my opinion, they must have hunted on the 20th or 21st, which is why the meat was frozen to prevent spoilage. In any case, I personally noticed them in the region on February 20, which raised my suspicions, as they were in special attire with firearms, and we carried out our functions. There were four people in the vehicle, one of whom was definitely the head of the Ararat territorial division,' he emphasized.

In a conversation with us, officials from the Armenian Police stated that materials are being prepared regarding the incident, while the Ministry of Environment denied the information claiming that the deputy director of the Khosrov Forest State Reserve, Artak Mkhitaryan, was also in the vehicle. However, the Armenian Police has yet to disclose documented details about who the participants in the hunting were.

EcoNews.am urges the Armenian Police and other law enforcement agencies to take all possible actions to clarify the details of the incident and identify those responsible. Furthermore, we urge the Armenian government, particularly the Minister of Environment and the head of the Environmental and Mining Inspectorate, to impose the most severe penalties.

It should be noted that the hunting season for amateur hunting in Armenia ended on February 15. Moreover, according to an order signed by the Minister of Environment, Romanos Petrosyan, hunting of wild boar has been prohibited for several years now.