Animal Activists Seek Help for Pets Left in Zoos & Shelters Across ???? ???????? Ukraine

Animal death is inevitable if you don’t act right now: Ukrainians Implore to Global Animal Right Activists for help

The most difficult situation remains in shelters and zoos in Kyiv and Kharkiv regions

T

he situation with animal shelters, zoos, and national parks is critical. Thousands of animals and volunteers are on the verge of death at their workplaces. They are still cut off from the power supply, without food, water, and aid help. Shelter workers remain steadfast and are still trying to save the lives of the defenseless. But if we don’t find ways to deliver food, water, and gasoline — death is imminent.

Kyiv Region 

Over 3,000 animals and volunteers are trapped in the county’s largest shelter, Sirius, located in the Dymer community, 60 km north of Kyiv. As of now, there is a humanitarian catastrophe in the community and in the shelter. 

Iryna Lozova, “Sirius” shelter coordinator, says:

“26 days in the blockade by the invaders. For 26 days we cannot bring food and medicine for people and animals. Of all residents of the Dymer community, 3165 dogs and 218 cats became hostages. There will be enough food for animals until March 21, there is no gasoline for the generator for two days. Help us save the animals! We are currently looking for organizations to help evacuate animals abroad after the corridor is created. They need to find a safe home. The green corridor is the only way to save the hostages of war!”

Further updates from “Sirius” are available via their FB page. 

Hostomel shelter is one of the oldest shelters in the country, where over 700 animals and 4 people remain stranded since the start of the war. Volunteers report that every day without permission to the green corridor brings the day comes closer when food and gasoline are completely gone. 

The shelter has been hit by shells three times and attacked by a tank. As of March, 20th Hostomel shelter team reports:

“We need at least one green corridor to bring food, medicine, gasoline, and water. From the first day of the war, all employees of the animal shelter in Hostomel remain at their workplace. We feed not only animals in the shelter but also those who have been abandoned by people”. 

The volunteers urge local and international animal organizations to intervene and facilitate the establishment of safe passage before all the animals are dead. 

Also, in Gostomel, Russian invaders burned down a private stable with 32 horses. A few horses still survived, nailed to one of the neighboring herds, but most were burned alive, the owner wrote on the FB page of the equestrian school and showed a horrific photo of the incident:

“Our stable was bombed out, and our horses were burned alive in stalls. There was no one to save them, it was impossible to break through to them, because the russists firmly settled in Bucha, Gostomel, Irpen. Orcs took our stable and sat there for about 10 days, after which they smashed it to pieces.” 

The Russian military burned the horses in closed enclosures.

Appeal from volunteers about the situation in the shelter in Borodyanka: 

Before the hell broke out in Borodyanka, the shelter management had about 5 days, 5 days to take them out and rescue the dogs, or open the cages and release them. Borodyanka’s volunteers were waiting for clear instructions from the shelter’s management, but we didn’t receive them.  Employees left the shelter in early March. According to volunteers’ calculations,  the last time dogs ate was about 20 days ago.

“We are the voice of those who will no longer be heard, those 485 dogs that were left by the management of the shelter and Animal Protection Center, to certain death without food and water. Every morning, we check the routes of the green corridor to the shelter. But any routes going to Borodyanka do not reach the shelter itself. And as we know, it is strictly forbidden to deviate from the agreed green corridor.

But we did not give up and left thousands of applications every day with those who were not indifferent to extending the corridor by only 3 km. The hearts of us, those who fought for their future for years, and those who learned about this tragedy around the world a few days ago are torn. For us, they were and will be like children who were closed and left to certain and very terrible death.

We will not forget or forgive”. 

The management of “Park XII Months” writes that it is now important to organize and allocate the rescue of animals dying in the occupied territories in a separate chapter in negotiations and in the framework of daily work — of course, after military and civilian issues.

“It is necessary to separate this subject into a separate topic — so that it does not interfere with more important military issues and saving people — and that it is dealt with separately and in a narrowly specialized way. After all, in the smoke of war, it is inevitably lost among more important problems. And it remains unresolved — for a whole month.

There are more like us — shelters, private collections, zoos – than you can imagine. And these are all living souls. And our employees are also in the Park, who daily neglect the danger in the name of saving the lives of animals.” 

Eastern Ukraine, Kharkiv region  

The regional landscape park in the Dergachiv district of the Kharkiv region “Feldman-Ecopark” suffered devastating consequences. The main component of the eco-park is a zoo, which had about 2,000 animals. Employees and volunteers managed to evacuate four orangutans from the Ecopark – Vasya, Kuzya, Massy, and Ponochka, nine chimpanzees, and 22 alpacas.

“Unfortunately, in extreme conditions, animals die not only from injuries but also from rupture of the heart. Animals who are constantly on the line of fire, experience constant stress, which has a great negative impact on their mental state and behavior,” — said the press secretary of the park.

The evacuation of the animals of the Ecopark, caught in the line of fire, must continue, says the management of the park, because every living creature has the right to life.

In Kharkiv, an animal shelter was hit by a shell on March, 8th. 293 dogs were at the premises during that time. Five dogs died and five enclosures were ruined. Six more dogs got different wounds — Animal rescue Kharkiv, Ukraine NGO reported.

Ukrainian volunteers keep supporting animals despite grave risks to their lives, but need your support! 

Despite facing direct threats to their lives Ukrainian volunteers relentlessly continue rescue efforts and keep shipping humanitarian aid to shelters.

However, without wider awareness from the global animal rights activities and urgent advocacy for establishing safe humanitarian aid passages, wider efforts cannot be carried out. 

We’d be happy to provide further reporting, quotes, and fixing with local sources for you to cover the grave situation in Ukraine. 

We need greater coverage and awareness among international NGOs and governments to pressure the Russian forces to establish safe passage and green corridors and stop killing innocent people and animals! 

#SaveAnimalsInUA

Background: 

Since the war in Ukraine erupted in the early hours of Feb, 24th, thousands of volunteer-led animal shelters have been fully cut off from the supplies. Risking their lives, volunteers still attempt to evacuate the trapped animals or at least deliver food supplies to facilities, located amidst ranging warzones. 

Apart from deliberate shootings, Russian forces are denying humanitarian corridors to allow animal volunteers to access affected areas and bring in supplies or transport the animals out to safer zones.

• It is still impossible to deliver food and medicine for over 5,000 animals and volunteers in animal shelters. With no food supplies in the Kyiv region, Ukraine they are under blockade by Russian invaders. Volunteers who tried to get to the shelters were shot by the Russian military.

• Two volunteers were blatantly shot dead near Kharkiv when attempting to feed animals in an occupied zoo. 

• Animal shelters across Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv regions have been under attack and urgently need humanitarian aid.

• Three volunteers were shot dead in their vehicle by Russian forces when attempting food delivery to a Bucha animal shelter.