Igor Bilyakov decided to leave the Odessa Zoo

Igor Bilyakov, the longtime director and current head of the research department at the Odessa Zoo, has decided to step down from his position at the institution. He stated that the reason for this decision was that he could no longer work due to pressure. 

Bilyakov announced this on social media. 

He noted that the zoo is being prevented from operating. The institution is inundated with requests for public information, and the police and the prosecutor’s office are receiving many complaints that he believes to be false. Consequently, zoo employees are constantly responding to inquiries and attending interrogations. 

Bilyakov noted that he himself is the target of this pressure. Therefore, he decided to resign to allow the zoo to operate. The former director also stated that he hopes the pressure on the institution will ease after this. 

In April,a petition to the city council chair demanding that he be retained as director of the Odesa Zoo gathered the 1,000 signatures required for it to be considered and for a response to be provided to the community in less than a day on April 16.

In addition to his reinstatement, the petition called for: a ban on the unjustified relocation of animals and preventing the zoo from being moved from its historic location, as well as ensuring that anydecisions regarding the zoo’s operations be made exclusively on the basis of expert opinions, rather than under the influence of media campaigns or political pressure. ​

Last November, the Odessa City Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal case againstIgor Bilyakov, director of the Odessa Zoo, who was charged with animalcruelty. Activists filed a complaint with the police and appealed to the State Environmental Inspectorate.

Bilyakov himself rejected the accusations, noting that the numerous photos and videos circulating on social media are manipulative and were created deliberately. 

Юлія Калабайда