Local residents and members of the “Rioni Valley Defenders” movement began protesting after the Georgian government granted a 49-year license in March 2022 for 104,712 hectares of forest in Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti to the company HG Capra Caucasica for the purpose of establishing a hunting farm. The company’s stated goal was to breed red deer and Caucasian bison, but its beneficial owner, Davit Khidasheli, was a business associate of sanctioned Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov.

Environmental groups Green Alternative and the Racha Community Organization filed a lawsuit demanding the annulment of the license, citing environmental risks and lack of public consultation. On July 17, 2023, the investigative outlet Mtis Ambebi published an investigation titled “Occupation of the Racha Forests,” revealing legal and safety violations.

Following months of protests in Oni and later in Tbilisi, the movement Rioni Valley Defenders continued to demand the full cancellation of the license. During a protest outside the Ministry of Environmental Protection on November 18, police arrested eleven demonstrators, including movement leader Varlam Goletiani.

On November 28, 2023, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture officially annulled the company’s license due to the failure to meet investment and operational obligations.