This is how we help animals in needWar in Ukraine
With the war in Ukraine, Russia has been causing fear, terror and unimaginable suffering since February 2022. Find out here how we provided emergency aid for people and their animals immediately after the outbreak of war and rescued a bear. The team at our Odessa Animal Welfare Center is currently continuing its work for the animals despite all the adversity. The Vetmobil is providing veterinary treatment for dogs and cats on the war front. Politically, we are campaigning for animal welfare solutions in dealing with street animals, particularly in the Ukraine task force.
Medical care for dogs and cats
We supported the Ukrainian animal welfare organization UAnimals with 10,000 euros for their work in the frontline region in Ukraine. In autumn 2024, local residents had the opportunity to have their cats and dogs treated and neutered in the Vetmobile. Many are currently unable to afford such treatment, and if they can, there is often no vet on site. In one case, soldiers even brought a cat by to have it neutered, vaccinated and chipped. Thanks to the commitment of the helpers, some street cats have also been caught and neutered.
Help for stray animals in Odessa continues
As the German Animal Welfare Federation, we have been running the animal welfare center in Odessa since 2005 to care for and neuter ownerless animals on site. Then the war came and suddenly changed everything. But our team in Odessa wants to continue to be there for the animals, even in these difficult times of war. We have deep respect for the fact that they want to continue caring for the ownerless animals, who are also suffering from the consequences of the war, for as long as they can.
In numbers
1549 animals were taken in and cared for at the Animal Welfare Center Odessa in 2023.
177 cats were treated with parasite treatmentsin spring 2024.
1316 animals were spayed and neutered at the Animal Welfare Center Odessa in 2023.
A 600kg power generator arrived in Odessa in February 2023 & enables the center to operate even in times of war.
Looking back: The Animal Welfare Center after the outbreak of war
February 2023: Together with the German Animal Rescue Association (GDT), we brought ten pallets of food and a power generator to our animal welfare center in Odessa, one of several aid deliveries with which we supported the team. This means that the team can now finally operate various devices and the clinic rooms again and carry out important operations without interruption. The deliveries were made possible in particular by Frank Lauer, Head of Animal Rescue Untermain and member of the GDT. Since the beginning of the war, the animal rescuer has already helped street animals, animal owners and Ukrainian animal rights activists on site with donated relief supplies several times, also on behalf of the German Animal Welfare Association. In November 2022, Lauer received the German Animal Welfare Award for his courageous efforts.
June 2023: Tens of thousands of people and animals are in need after the devastating destruction of the Kachowka Dam. The employees of our animal welfare center in Odessa immediately started to help. They supported local animal rights activists and provided medical assistance themselves at the collection points on the edge of the flood area. There was a lack of everything on the ground: food, medication and other accommodation. At our animal welfare center in Odessa, we tried to take in as many animals as possible, especially those that needed more intensive medical care, such animals that were smeared and poisoned by oil. The Animal Welfare Center Odessa provided medical care for all the animals, initially isolating them because there is a particularly high risk of infection in flood areas and giving them space to rest after the shock. The disastrous consequences of the destruction of the Kachovka dam show once again that we must include the protection of animals in disaster management.
April 2022: The first evacuated dogs and cats from our animal welfare center in Odessa have arrived in Germany. After we successfully brought the animals, which are dependent on ongoing human care due to old age, illness or injury, out of Ukraine, our member association, Tierhilfe Hoffnung, took care of them in the Romanian animal shelter Smeura. In the meantime, several animal shelters affiliated with us, our Weidefeld Animal Welfare Center and our Sonnenhof have taken in and cared for 44 dogs and 15 cats and placed them in suitable homes.
Emergency aid on the Polish-Ukrainian border
Together with our partner GDT, we set up an animal aid camp on the Polish-Ukrainian border in March 2022 immediately after the outbreak of war. There, we provided food and water for the animals of refugees who reached the border with their pets. They were able to rest and warm up after all their exertions. We provided transport boxes, harnesses and leads for the onward journey. At the end of March 2022, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) continued the relief efforts. Together with the GDT, we supplied food and equipment. We helped animal shelters in Poland that took in and cared for rescued and abandoned pets from Ukraine. We were also able to supply them with quarantine boxes and coordinate with our affiliated animal shelters in Germany, which took in animals.
Bear rescued from Ukraine
Malvina the Asian black bear from Ukraine arrived safely at our Weidefeld Animal Welfare Center in March 2022. When the war broke out, several bears were evacuated from a sanctuary near Kiev. They were able to stay temporarily in a bear protection center in western Ukraine. Together with the Foundation for Bears, we brought Malvina safely to us in Weidefeld, where we still had space for a black bear. Malvina can recover from her long ordeal and spend the rest of her life in the spacious facility.
Animal welfare in disaster control
The war of aggression on Ukraine is a humanitarian disaster for the population, but also for the animals: the bombs hit animal shelters, farms and zoos that are home to animals and urgently need help. In addition, not all animal owners were able to take their pets with them when they fled. The animals left behind are now fighting for their survival together with the dogs and cats already living on the streets.
These animals need to be considered in disaster management. That is why we have formed a task force together with other animal welfare organizations at our European umbrella organization, the Eurogroup for Animals. Despite the chaotic situation, we were initially able to coordinate offers of help such as neutering animals, evacuations and food deliveries. We are currently developing solutions to help stray animals and offer our support to the Ukrainian authorities - also in the course of the EU accession negotiations. For this, we can bring our decades of knowledge and experience of caring for Odessa’s stray population to the table in order to help all animals in Ukraine.
