Update: March 10, 2022
Listen to this follow-up PETA Podcast with PETA Germany Special Projects manager Sylvie Bunz as she discusses the work to save animals abandoned due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Hundreds of thousands of frightened, hungry, and exhausted Ukrainians are fleeing their homes and crossing into Poland and other countries in the wake of the Russia invasion. At least one animal shelter has been bombed and animals killed, and other shelters are now struggling to keep animals fed with the meager stock of food they still have on hand. While thousands of evacuees are bringing their animal companions with them—thanks in part to PETA ads on Ukrainian news sites—many others have left animals behind.
PETA Germany’s rescue team and a partner organization are helping as many animals, guardians, and shelters as possible. The teams have brought more than 20 tons of dog and cat food and supplies into the embattled country, and more is on the way. They are also taking as many animals from shelters as possible out of the war zone to safety—126 so far! As you can imagine, this is not easy, and red tape is a challenge, as are delayed entries and exits, but the teams have managed to secure special permission and a passage across the Polish border with their giant double trucks and even with a convoy of cars. We hope this continues.
The PETA Podcast spoke with PETA Germany’s Judith Peine from the border. She recounts that refugees are being forced to wait at the border for up to 30 hours in the cold—with no food, water, or place to rest.
Peine and her team have already assisted a woman who carried her cat, Crimsee, under her jacket during the 37-mile journey. The woman’s feet had frozen, and she was unable to walk any farther. They also spotted a mother, her son, and two guinea pigs they were holding in small paper bags. PETA Germany drove them all across the border to safety, where both the humans and animals received food, water, and medical care.
The situation in Ukraine is dire and changing rapidly, but PETA Germany’s team will be helping in any way they can for as long as animals and their guardians need them.
Listen to the eye-opening full podcast episode to learn more, follow our blog for regular updates, and make an urgently needed gift to PETA’s Global Compassion Fund to keep this and other lifesaving work for animals going strong.
