In May 2023, Russian occupants stole the tiger cub from Mariupol and handed it to the Russian trainer Zapashny. The tiger was born during the occupation and was 6 months old at the time of his death. It is known that the trainer actively supports the war of Russia in Ukraine. He got a tiger from the zoo in Mariupol and said he would train him at the circus. In May, Edgar Zapashny exhibited many pictures with the animal. After that, there was a media silence. Zapashny reported that the tiger had died due to kidney problems in August. At the time of death, the animal from Mariupol was in the circus. Although the sick animal was supposed to be in a zoo or a clinic.
Mariupol city council confirmed the information on the official Telegram channel. This is not the first time the occupiers killed or stole Ukrainian animals. During the war in Ukraine, many animals burned down due to shelling, died under rubble, drowned due to the explosion of a hydroelectric power plant, etc. Previously, the occupiers stole a raccoon from the zoo in Kherson and made it "a property of liberation".
"The world community rejects animal-exploiting circuses. After all, their training is accompanied by violence, bullying and detention in conditions that negatively affect health," reports the pro-Ukrainian Mariupol city council.
