I’ve been trying to stay informed about the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Ukraine, and the human and animal refugee crisis in neighbouring countries as Ukranians are forced to leave.
This is a crisis for
the people of the Ukraine, its animals (companion animals, farm animals, working
animals and wildlife) and its life-sustaining environment.
Regarding animals, the
main challenges are appear to be processing animals with limited or no
paperwork, so there is a big need for microchipping and identification of
animals, vaccination (particularly for rabies as this is a requirement to move
animals across most borders), worming, treatment for animals that are injured
or ill ,and provision of food and fodder for animals.
Those veterinary team
members who are working on the ground face massive logistical challenges and
resource shortages, but all have stressed that they need support for some time.
In Australia, Veterinarians
Beyond Borders have set up a donation portal, which can be accessed here:
https://portal.vetsbeyondborders.org/campaign/urgent-appeal-for-ukraine-animals
The European College
of Animal Welfare and Behaviour Medicine (ECAWBM) has been involved with the
establishment of Vets for Ukraine:
From the US, Greater
Good is one organisation working on the ground, and their website is found
here. They are publishing webinars containing regular updates, see here: https://greatergood.org/
Please note that the
above links are limited to organisations I’ve personally interacted with, and this
selection is by no means complete.
