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A Threat To Shelter`s Activity Caused By War

Nowadays an enormous number of animals suffer from various factors caused by the war. Day after day volunteers do their best in order to help Ukrainian pets and provide them with all widely necessary resources. However, due to a current increasing range of cats and dogs in shelters it is rather complicated to solve the issue of needed equipment shortage.

Due to the presence of ongoing changes and several challenges the U-hearts Foundation team shared the initiative connected with conducting a particular study aiming to figure out the consequences of the war and mobilize as much assistance from international donors as it is possible.

In the result of the following research, 14 in-depth interviews were carried out. Here are the words which literally depict a general situation relevant to all Ukrainian shelters: “Putting pets in homes is becoming increasingly difficult, there are a lot of abandoned animals. It is difficult to raise money in Ukraine. People who had been helping pets for years are now donating to military needs. We have debts for food bills and unpaid clinic bills…”

Summarizing the information which the U-hearts Foundation team gained while conducting this research, there are issues, which unfortunately slow the process of helping pets and keeping the majority of them in shelters down:

As a result of the war in Ukraine, the quantity of pets in shelters and in the care of pet volunteers has significantly increased (from 20 to 100%). And so do their needs.
Almost every shelter experienced a giant and unexpected shortage of resources. Nowadays the key source of aid consists in donations from ordinary people who keep on helping pets. This process has really become more widespread due to mass evacuation and drop in income standards.
In winter, the general cost of heating and frequent power outages. And this is one more pressing issue.
Other relevant challenges include a drop in pet adoption rate and shelter staff shortage. In some cases there is a need to build an extension to existing shelters, to repair or build new pet enclosures.

Thus, among key needs are the presence of accommodation for Ukrainian pets, food, veterinary support, medicine and power sources.

And how do people help Ukrainian pets?

When aspiring to find an accurate solution to the following problems, shelters and pet volunteers often turn to the devoted public, various animal protection organizations, charity foundations and businesses. A lot of kind-hearted people supported the initiative of the U-hearts Foundation with a noble purpose of helping pets due to making donations.

Furthermore, within this year, foreign organizations also stepped in to support shelters and help Ukrainian pets by offering material support, supplies of pet food and providing help in accommodating.

“Many foreign organizations turned their attention to the problem of animals, indeed, we met good volunteers from other countries. If there is a possibility, people from other countries offer help” (a story from the rear areas).”

Although, it is still difficult for shelters to plan their resources, as assistance is oftentimes episodic or insufficient. Therefore, they are literally forced to downsize, deal with mounting debts for medical care, attend to animals’ medical needs on their own and change pets’ dietary requirements (for instance to use a hybrid diet which consists of pet food + offal).

Nevertheless, some pros generally exist. There are several possibilities that have shown up since the beginning of the war:

  • helping pets by providing an overseas accommodation for them;
  • the amount of aid from the community; business, non-profit and charity organizations has significantly increased.

Summing up, suffice it to mention that this recently conducted research has shown the key points about the war`s cause towards shelters which actively help Ukrainian pets. The U-hearts Foundation team has analyzed the main issues and currently looks forward to finding convenient solutions while emphasizing them.

Simultaneously, you may also help Ukrainian pets. First and foremost, it is needed to respect animals and value their presence in our lives. Don`t leave your fluffy friend and also aspire to provide assistance for others. Apparently, as a result of following these instructions, the amount of stray animals will decline.

Posted by:

Project manager at U-Hearts Foundation

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