Odesa Zoo announcer announces the end of his contract

An era has come to an end at the Odesa Zoo, as its longtime director announced the end of his contract. He summarized his work and emphasized that despite the achievements, there are still many challenges ahead for the development of the institution.

Ihor Bilyakov announced the completion of his work as director of the Odesa Zoo.

According to him, the contract has expired, and he is no longer in charge of the institution to which he has devoted a significant part of his life.

In his address, he emphasized that over the years of his leadership, he managed to significantly change the zoo for the better. According to his assessment, these changes are visible to the citizens, but at the same time, there are still many unresolved problems that require attention and further solutions.

Bilyakov refrained from self-assessing his work, noting that the final conclusion should be made by visitors and residents of the city. He also emphasized the importance of further development of the zoo and the need to protect the institution from possible threats.

The ex-director also emphasized that he does not plan to leave his life's work completely. He assured that he would continue to support the Odesa Zoo and contribute to its development, even outside of his official position.

In November last year, the Odesa City Prosecutor's Office opened criminal proceedings against the director of the Odesa Zoo, Ihor Bilyakov, who was charged with animal cruelty. Activists filed a complaint with the police and appealed to the State Environmental Inspectorate.

Bilyakov himself denied the accusations, noting that numerous photos and videos circulated on social media were manipulated and made deliberately with a perspective that distorted reality in order to create a negative attitude towards the municipal institution.

Also in March, the police notified the director of the contractor that repaired the heating system in the Odesa Zoo and a technical supervision engineer of suspicion of abuse of office.

As a result, according to experts, the Odesa Zoo suffered losses of more than UAH 2.5 million. These funds were actually unjustifiably withdrawn from the budget and ended up on the contractor's accounts.

Анна Бальчінос