18+ VIDEO. Dog massacre in Martuni. Animal rights activist raises alarm, municipality denies

Reports have emerged on social media claiming that a dog massacre took place in the market area of Martuni, Gegharkunik region, yesterday, October 29. Volunteer Gohar Ter-Antonyan from the Conservation of Biodiversity Foundation stated that the dogs were shot by Martuni's deputy mayor, Vahagn Davtyan.

Auroranews contacted Deputy Mayor Mardpetuni Manukyan for clarification, who noted in a candid conversation, “I spoke with the deputy mayor mentioned, he was surprised and said that this does not concern us and completely denied it.”

When asked if the police had come to the municipality, he replied, “I haven’t seen anyone; maybe they came. The mayor has also been in Yerevan for over an hour, so maybe he has met them; I do not know.”

Auroranews also reached out to the police, who informed us that the documents had been sent to the Investigative Committee. We then contacted Gor Abrahamyan, the press secretary of the Investigative Committee, who said, “The documents have been transferred to the IC, but a criminal case has not yet been initiated because what was presented was perhaps insufficient to resolve the issue of opening a criminal case; clarification was necessary. The police were given a mandate to conduct verification, and when results are available, will be accordingly investigated.”