On the banks of the Dniester in the Chernivtsi region, farmers illegally plowed the settlement of the European gopher.
This is what we are talking about site Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG).
The environmental organization noted that the European ground squirrel is one of the rarest animals in Ukraine. There are only five or six colonies of this species near the village of Bernove (Kelmenets Territorial Community of the Dniester District). All known settlements of the animal are located in the Chernivtsi region.
Earlier, the number of the species could be counted in the thousands, but today there are dozens of ground squirrels left in Ukraine. Therefore, each of the colonies is carefully inspected by scientists every year.
The species is protected by the Red Book of Ukraine and the Berne Convention, which must be implemented in the framework of Ukraine's European integration processes.
Environmentalists stressed that all areas were plowed illegally. Some of them are state-owned and are part of the Khotyn National Nature Park. Other plowed plots, although they do not belong to the national park, are included in the State Land Cadastre with an uncertain form of ownership and have no legal grounds for plowing.
Given the illegality of the actions, environmental activists appealed to the Office of the Attorney General to bring violators to justice and establish involvement in this crime against the environment of the local community leadership.
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