In the Chernivtsi region, the prosecutor's office opened criminal proceedings regarding the illegal plowing by farmers of the European gopher settlement on the banks of the Dniester near the village of Bernove, Dnistrovsky district.
There are only 5-6 gopher colonies in Ukraine, and all of them are located in the Chernivtsi region, reports the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group – UNCG on Facebook.
The European gopher is one of the rarest animals in Ukraine. The species is protected by the Red Book and the Berne Convention, the implementation of which is required as part of European integration processes.
Conservationists noted that earlier the number of the species could be counted in the thousands, but today there are only a few dozen gophers in Ukraine and each colony is carefully examined by scientists every year.
But only a part of one of the most important colonies remained.
"After our appeal to the Office of the General Prosecutor of Ukraine, the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office opened criminal proceedings. According to the available information, the Dnistrovsky district police department has started investigative actions regarding this offense," the UNCG noted.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that on the banks of the Dniester in the Chernivtsi region, farmers illegally plowed up the gopher settlement. Part of the plowed areas is state property and is part of the Khotynskyi NNP.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, environmentalists criticized the decision of the Scientific and Technical Council of the Karmelyukovo Podillia National Park, the only one in Vinnytsia, regarding setting felling limits, in particular sanitary and recreational.
