{"id":172722,"date":"2022-03-30T14:41:02","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T11:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=172722"},"modified":"2022-03-31T17:13:08","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T14:13:08","slug":"ukraine-in-flames-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/ukraine-in-flames-19","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine in Flames: Difficult fates of Ukrainian pets and wildlife"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

750,000 dogs and 5.5 million cats have lived in Ukraine as of 2014. Thousands of them, large dogs in particular, have been abandoned by owners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteers rescue abandoned and stray animals, maintain shelters, provide feed and evacuate pets to Poland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They risk their lives daily: three animal rescue volunteers were killed in Kharkiv while delivering dog food. Situation in zoos in war zones and in occupied territories is desperate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Feldman Ecopark zoo in Kharkiv was damaged. Animals at \u201c12 Months Zoo\u201d near Kyiv and at Mykolaiv Zoo have begun to die from starvation and cold, as owners are running out of resources, and logistical chains take time to reset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group reposts, one-third of the wildlife protection areas and sites, including two biosphere reserves, are currently located in active war zones or under occupation. The biggest short-term threat are the raging fires and noise pollution that result from active combat and shelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ukrainian government cannot deliver help to these territories, because its interventions are limited by the Russian occupation forces and bureaucratic difficulties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As at zoos, tourism no longer provides income, and logistics has been substantially complicated. As a result, natural reserves are in dire need of fodder, medicine and enclosure re-equipment, as well as solutions for evacuation, repair and re-equipment of its own special critical infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animal welfare competes with the security of humans. Qualified staff of nature reserves have lost their livelihoods and need evacuation from the zones of active hostilities: caretakers of nature reserves along with the nature reserves themselves need help. Families abandon their pets prioritising their own and their children\u2019s security. Volunteers come to rescue, restoring logistical chains, planning evacuations for people and animals, and fundraising to cover unpredictable costs of animal rescue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speakers: Oleksii Vasyliuk, expert of Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group Volunteers of the animal shelter \u201cSirius\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support pets and wildlife in Ukraine by donating to these trusted initiatives:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n