Armenian Minister of Nature Protection Erik Grigoryan today stated that he is suing Jambo Exotic Park owner Artyom Vardanyan for slander.

Yesterday, Vardanyan issued a public statement that Grigoryan is in cahoots with the director of the Yerevan Zoo and that the two are in business together are false.

Grigoryan, in a Facebook post, declared that the allegation was false and unacceptable.

“I can no longer tolerate such lies and slander. I want to state that such manifestations will be responded to in the legal realm,” writes Grigoryan.

In 2016, Hetq wrote about Artyom Vardanyan and his importation of endangered animals to Armenia.

Many of these animals were on exhibit at Jambo Exotic Park, located in the Kotayk town of Dzoraghbyur.

In March 2016, Artyom Vardanyan and his brother were arrested at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania when they attempted to transport 61 monkeys out of the country.

Yerevan Zoo Director Ruben Khachatryan has also announced that he will also be suing Vardanyan for slander.

Top photo (from left): Minister Erik Grigoryan, Artyom Vardanyan