Tsarukyan had permits, animal conditions met standards, spokeswoman says

Exotic animals seized from the estate of opposition leader Gagik Tsarukyan after his arrest on Monday were kept legally and in proper conditions, his party’s spokeswoman said.

Investigators confiscated three lions, one tiger, and 190 taxidermy specimens from Tsarukyan’s residence, transferring the live animals to Yerevan Zoo as evidence in a criminal case.

Iveta Tonoyan, spokesperson for Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia Party, told reporters outside the courthouse on Tuesday that the businessman had “all the necessary permits” and that the animals’ housing met legal standards. She criticized the Investigative Committee’s wording, saying it was misleading to describe the animals as “seized.”

Tonoyan recalled that Tsarukyan had previously donated a lion cub to Yerevan Zoo, stressing that his interest in keeping animals was personal and symbolic. “We are simply dealing with an individual who is a great admirer of symbolism,” she said.