Ukrainian MP, the President of the World Open Foundation for Animal Rehabilitation and Reintroduction (WOFARR) Oleksandr Feldman welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, which confirms elk\u2019s place in the Red Book of Ukraine. He wrote about this on his Facebook page.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommon sense has triumphed: the Supreme Court remained in force the decision about the entry of the elk into the Red Book of Ukraine. Therefore, the hunting of these animals is prohibited. I would like to remind that the prohibition of killing of these beautiful animals was introduced in 2017, and there were more than serious reasons for this: the population of elks in our country has reduced, according to the experts, to 3,000 animals, which is much less than, for example, in the neighbouring Poland and Belarus. In addition, they often become victims of poachers \u2013 the last known incident happened in Sumy region not so long ago,\u201d Oleksandr Feldman noted.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that it is really necessary to rescue elks in Ukraine instead of hunting these animals, for them not to repeat the fate of European bisons, which have once completely disappeared from our nature. However, the hunting lobby opposed this decision hard. The courts issued contradictory decrees, and the solution of this issue lasted for several years.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd finally, the issue is solved. On behalf of the WOFARR, I welcome this decision. I hope that it will become a starting point in the work aimed at the rescue of these animals and will transform into a serious governmental elk recruitment programme. The WOFARR and Feldman Ecopark will definitely take part actively in its implementation and are ready to use their experience for the recruitment of rare species of animals. Step by step we will continue the struggle for the preservation of the animal world and our nature as a whole,\u201d Oleksandr Feldman emphasized.<\/p>\n
It should be reminded that on October 3, the Supreme Court of Ukraine remained in force the decision of the Court of Appeal, by which the order of the Ministry of Ecology about entry of the elk into the Red Book of Ukraine was recognized as valid. Earlier, November 7, 2018, the District Administrative Court of Kyiv ruled as illegal the orders \u201cOn elk hunting ban\u201d and \u201cOn the changes to the list of species entered in the Red Book of Ukraine (animal world),\u201d which caused protests of animal advocates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"