Video: The Zoo Will Be Removed, Elite Neighborhood to Be Built; Protest Action

Dissatisfaction regarding the zoo has been present for quite some time, and we have spoken about it before, but today we decided to hold a protest action right in front of the zoo to make our voices heard as much as possible. This was stated by former zoo employee Anush Rafaelian during an interview with journalists at the protest action that began shortly ago near the zoo.

It should be noted that the protest is being carried out by former employees of the zoo. “We also held protests in 2018-2019 when Ruben Khachatryan was still the director. The complaints were specifically about Khachatryan and his incomprehensible plans related to some aspects of Europe, etc. During his tenure, there were incidents with animal deaths and unprofessional approaches. He was essentially a filmmaker and had no connection to animals. We had complaints against him related to his foundation, which was interlinked,” Rafaelian insisted.

“As a result of these numerous complaints, he was dismissed, and a worker employed during his tenure, Vladimir Simonyan, automatically became the acting director. However, COVID-19 and the war prolonged his term a bit, and he ended up staying for more than six months. When everything subsided, he was removed from work, and his place was taken by Arevik Mkrtchyan, an economist representing international connections, who is a continuation of Ruben Khachatryan; nothing has changed. She indeed claims that the entities are not connected, but that is evidently not a solution to the problem,” Rafaelian emphasized.

“If she continues the style of Khachatryan, it is clear that everything will repeat itself. There are still numerous incidents of animal deaths and dismissals; during one month, about 25% of the staff left. Some were forced to leave, while some chose to do so seeing what was happening. This means that currently, only incompetent people are working in this zoo. Who will explain the deaths of the seagulls? One says there was a worm, another claims it was poisoning. During these six months, many animals have died, which has simply not been reported. Bears have also been attacking each other. Now these people come and say they are conducting a scientific program; for a scientific program, you have to be a scientist. What is the scientific program for the bears? What are you doing? Who decided that the bears should remain hungry? This is absolute ignorance, ignorance; it is a shame. I believe all this is being done deliberately to free up the territory of the zoo because, according to rumors, they want to build an elite neighborhood here. Those discussions have been circulating since 2011. They want to do something, possibly even rent the property, create something private; maybe Ruben Khachatryan will also rent out his animals. We will not remain silent, and that is why we are here,” she added.