War in Ukraine: even the animals are in search of safety

“I am the director of the municipal shelter and veterinary clinics in Kiev, Natalia Mazur. I ask international partners, veterinary colleagues, shelters and zoos to be able to accommodate even one pet. We need help, even with food. There are 500 animals in the kennel: 501 dogs and 77 cats ». It is Natalia Mazur, the director of the kennel and cattery of Kiev the capital of Ukraine besieged by the Russians, to launch, via social media, a desperate appeal to ask for help for the animals that in these hours have found themselves unconscious and completely innocent victims. A situation that, however, is not limited only to the animals found in shelters, but also to pets forced to flee the country with their humans, to the animals they had found refuge in shrines of the country and to the many wild animals who inhabit this land which, with its 600,000 square kilometers, is the second largest state in Europe after European Russia.

Donations are requested for food and medicines. Oipa will send aid

Because for the moment it is impossible to get food and medicine, the appeal launched by Natalia Mazur is aimed at economic support that will allow the annotations of thousands of animals living in shelters to survive in the Ukrainian winter. «For now we can only accept financial support as the logistics are still disrupted and the specified pet transport is not possible – she has in fact her in the post. – We have been promised that it will be possible to deliver food by tomorrow. What we need now is food and medicine. ‘ When asked for help, she promptly replied Oipa International (International organization for the protection of animals), declaring that she immediately got in touch with the associations in the area. «The volunteers of our associations inform us that in the city of Kiev i have been reopened bunker to allow families to find refuge. On the other hand, people who have a pet can find shelter in the subwaysa place where it is allowed to bring dogs and cats with you – he explained Valentina Wet, Head of International Relations of Oipa International. – It is required that dogs wear a muzzle, given the large presence of men and other animals, and that cats remain inside the carriers ».

Italy welcomes Ukrainian refugees with their animals (including undocumented animals)

After the advice of the European Union to loosen the requirements checks on the veterinary documentation of dogs, cats and other pets traveling with refugees, the Italian Ministry of Health Roberto Speranza immediately accepted the indications and, with a circular issued yesterday evening, informed the Commission and the EU member countries that it will accept the introduction into Italy of pets accompanying citizens from Ukraine “without the prior request and prior release of the required authorization by article 32 of EU regulation 576/2013, also in order to protect respect for animal welfare “. The Ministry has ordered that EU member states, in the case of border controls on pets traveling with citizens of Ukraine who want to reach Italy, communicate to the e-mail address [email protected] the type and number of animals, their identification (if possible), the name of the owner and the destination address in Italy. To Oipa’s enormous satisfaction, which had spent a lot of time in this regard. “We thank Minister Speranza for having adopted this long-awaited measure by those who, like our association, are ready to welcome animals forced to flee Ukraine with his family, ”the president commented Massimo Comparotto.

LAV aid to shelters in difficulty

Who has no intention of abandoning the hundreds of animals he has been looking after since 2009 is Andrea Cisternino with her International Animal Protection League Charitable Foundation founded together with his wife Vlada Shalutko after denouncing the killings of Ukrainian strays by dog ​​hunters. Thanks to them the Italy refuge, at the gates of Kiev which not only deals with stray dogs and cats but has opened its doors to all animals saved from captivity and certain death on farms, horses and cows first of all. “This morning the sky around the Refuge was red – he wrote just a couple of days ago on his Facebook page – continuous artillery shots even during the night, you can’t sleep, I saw 15 minutes ago an artillery shell falling far from the Refuge but I could smell the smell of gunpowder very well, I could hear military columns moving in the distance ». The Italian refuge was supported by the LAV. “In the past few days we got in touch with Andrea Cisternino who reassured us that at the moment we have all the necessary supplies” assured the Italian Antivivisection League announcing that it had allocated a fund of 10,000 euros dedicated to the Ukraine emergency, made possible thanks to its supporters. “On February 28th we sent a first contribution to”Animal Shelter Sirius“, the largest shelter in the country, which welcomes 3,165 dogs in the Kyiv region and which had turned to us for its animals”.

Many wild animals in danger

The suffering of domestic animals and shelters is only the tip of the iceberg, because besides them there are millions of animals living on farms and millions of wild animals living free in the huge Ukrainian territory, for which they suddenly came to lack of minimum conditions for survival. The danger would in fact also concern some species in danger of extinction that inhabit the steppes and forests of the country, including the European beaver (Castor fiber) which in the Ukrainian areas finds one of the best habitats and which in recent decades has already suffered a real extermination due to its fur, the Skunk of the steppes (Mustela eversmanii), who finds refuge in the Azov-Sivaš National Natural Park less than 50 kilometers from Crimea; L’European moose (Alces alces) typical of the Ukrainian grasslands and the Gopher (Spermophilus citellus), the most endangered animal of all. The species is considered in danger of extinction, because in order to survive it needs a particular habitat characterized by vast low grasslands, such as those of southern Ukraine.

Support for those leaving with their pet