The Armenian mouflon, the Bezoarian goat and the Caucasian bear are all in the Red Book (Armenia 's list of endangered species). But with Safari International, you can hunt them for a few thousand Euro.

Safari International is an Armenian-Italian joint venture that was given control of land in Vayots Dzor by the Armenian Government. The area, considered the best place to hunt in the country, contains a dozen cultural and historical monuments, in addition to wild game.

In June 2004, the Government of Armenia adopted a decision allocating 2,400 hectares of state forest in the Yeghegis Gorge in Vayots Dzor and 495 hectares of land in the Geghi- Darmanadzor area of Syunik Marz to Safari International free of charge for permanent use. Paragraph #3 of the decision authorizes the organization of amateur hunts for wild animals.

The founders of the Safari International Armenian-Italian joint venture are Vardges Matevosyan, a member of the Armenian parliament, and Sergio Dimitrevich, a representative of the Italian Safari International.

"I was sorry to see that no one in our country was seriously concerned with preserving the fauna," Vardges Matevosyan said. "That's why I decided to take some land and try to preserve the diversity of the animal kingdom. Later Sergio Dimitrevich, from the Italian Safari International, visited Armenia at the invitation of one of the ministers. We met and established a joint venture."

The Italian company Safari International has been in the hunting business since 1985. The company's website -www.safariinternational.com - provides a wide range of hunting programs, with a selection of animal types, hunting methods, countries around the world, and so on.

In September 2004 the Government of Armenia amended its decision and gave the joint venture permission to hunt for certain animals to be used in scientific research by the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Science . These included "the following kinds of male animals over 8 years of age: Berzoarian goats - up to five animals; Armenian mouflon (wild sheep) - up to five animals; bears -up to two animals."

"We apply to the government requesting various animal organs for scientific experiments. This was the reason that our institute was mentioned in that decision," explained Sergey Movsisyan, the director of the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Science . "But so far nothing has been done; it's only on paper. We have said that we agree to carry out experiments within the framework of our agreement. They haven't been in touch with us yet."

Some scientists at the institute, however, doubt that the agreement will serve its purpose. They are not sure what will happen when a hunt takes place, and who will supervise, if there is no one from their institute present.

Thanks to the government's decision, Armenia is featured on the Safari International website, providing an exceptional opportunity to hunt rare and endangered species. For 4,000 Euro you may kill one animal-Armenian mouflon, Berzoarian goat, or Caucasian bear. The fee includes travel and accommodations, and an interpreter.

According to the website, hunters will be accompanied by members of the Union of Hunters of Armenia. But union chairman Sayat Davtyan insists that they have nothing to do with Safari International, and there are no agreements or other arrangements. It's just that Vardges Matevosyan is a member of the union.

There is also a price list for extra hunting: Each additional mouflon costs 4,000 Euros; Berzoarian goats and Caucasian bears are 3,500 Euros. It is not clear who decides the price of these Red Book species. Aram Matevosyan, the director of the Armenian-Italian joint venture, says prices reflect the going rate on the international market.

According to Aram Aghasyan from the Ministry of Ecology, "Safari International pays the state nothing for hunting mouflons. The price is probably for their services. Our ministry has no right to set a price for animals in the Red Book. Hunting them is permitted only for purposes of scientific research, and therefore there is no fee for hunting." Aghasyan insists that Safari International clients will serve as a hunting group for the Institute of Zoology ; otherwise, if institute representatives are not present, legal sanctions will apply.

The Armenian branch of Safari International has signed agreements with the ministries of ecology and agriculture committing itself to preserving wildlife and assisting in increasing the animal population.

"We have been granted state lands free of charge. No one can enter this land without our knowledge," Vardges Matevosyan explained. "We only preserve the land, we have no right to exploit it. We make sure that there is no logging or illegal hunting. We will also engage in hunting business, but if a hunter doesn't create, he has no right to shoot."

Matevosyan the best way to preserve wildlife is to parcel state lands out to various organizations. "We conducted a census in May and October of 2004. We had great results - if in May we had 24 goats, in October we had more than 100. This is the result of supervision. There is no poaching and the number of animals grows. There has been a migration of bears from neighboring areas onto our land, because there is no gunfire here. In the last ten months, there were only two registered cases of attempted poaching in the territory of our joint venture. In one case it was a student, in the other, a state official. Every one knows that this is our territory; it is under control, and no one can come here without our knowledge," he explained proudly.

Though no mouflons were counted in the census, Safari International offers them on its website. The company plans to fence the wild sheep in when they migrate from Nakhidjevan, endangering the animals further, according to Sayat Davtyan of the Hunters' Union . "Mouflons are migratory animals. When it's cold they go to Nakhidjevan," he explained. "Keeping the animals in one area, fencing the area in, or employing other methods is very wrong. They are used to specific natural and climatic conditions."

"The government took its decision in the hope that hunting would encourage the development of tourism in the region," said Karen Manvelyan, the director of the Caucasian office of the World Fund of Wild Nature. "I am sure that this decision will not work. The number of hunters from abroad will be too small to call it tourism. The decision is not a threat to the animals; one way or another, poaching exists. But I believe this decision is very dangerous, because it gives land for free to certain individuals who control it and prevent other people from going there. In our reality, what's going to happen is that will be a growing trend of people taking over mountains and gorges and other hunting grounds. That's the danger."