Animals Under Fire: Five organizations you can support to help save Ukraine’s pets and wildlife
My sister would do that.
That’s what I first thought when I saw the heart wrenching photo of a petite Ukrainian woman fleeing the war carrying her elderly German shepherd on her shoulders. Somehow, Alisa, 35, endured a 10-mile walk in below-freezing temperatures to get herself and her dog to safety in Poland.
I’ll probably take some heat for writing about the plight of Ukraine’s animals and how to help when there’s so much human suffering and need in the wake of Putin’s war. But for the animal causes worldwide that pull at my sister’s heartstrings, and the dozens of abandoned, injured and starving kitties she’s rescued and loved over the decades, this one’s for you Mara.
“It’s almost impossible to evacuate animals, because it’s impossible to provide appropriate veterinary service and transportation,” Kiev Zoo Chief Kyrylo Trantin told Euro news in a recent interview.
“For now, we have food supplies for around ten days,” he added.
That was March 3rd.
If animals are your thing and you want to help the pets, zoo animals and wild animals of Ukraine now under fire, you can. Read on.
Compassion for Pets — We’ve all seen photos of people like Alisa trying to carry their pets to safety, and of shell-shocked dogs and cats wandering aimlessly through the rubble thinking God knows what. While there’s widespread agreement that more than 3 million people have fled Ukraine, there’s no official estimate of the number of displaced pets. In a recent interview with NPR, a rep for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) took a guess that hundreds of thousands of pets are likely to have crossed the border with fleeing families. In support of refugees and their companion animals, Romania, Poland and Hungary have all eased requirements and restrictions for bringing animals across the border.
Of course countless pets remain stranded in Ukraine, and help groups have yet to get a handle on how many. Based on other European nations where about 50 percent of all households own pets, IFAW is guessing the percentage in Ukraine is about the same.[1] Ukraine’s pre-war population was about 43 million. With an average of 2.58 people per household,[2] and at one pet per household, this predicts that some 8.3 million pets are at risk. If you’ve got a soft spot for refugee and displaced pets in Ukraine, here are two organizations you can support with confidence:
#1. International Fund for Animal Welfare (http://www.ifaw.org) — Supports no-kill animal shelters throughout Ukraine, some of which have been damaged by shelling. Funds are needed for repairs and to gather and feed pets left behind.
#2. Four-Paws (https://www.fourpawsusa.org/campaigns-topics/topics/support-ukraine) — This organization (a favorite of my sister’s) operates a bear sanctuary in Ukraine in Domazhyr and is running an emergency operation that includes collecting, sheltering and feeding horses and stray animals.
If you’re a long-time animal defender, you might notice the omission of Human Society International. That’s not because they are not doing good work around the world, but because at this time I can’t verify a way to donate and direct that support specifically to efforts in Ukraine.
If you want to vet and suggest organizations doing similar work, leave a comment including the website of the organization and if they check out, I’ll update this story.
Support for Zoo Animals — The logistics of relocating lions, giraffes, zebras and other wild animals is immediately obvious, and the reason why only a handful have been evacuated from Ukraine. At the nation’s zoos, many keepers are staying on to care for animals, despite shelling and shortages of food, water, and medicines. Animals in Ukraine zoos at this point are in desperate need of food.
#3. European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (http://www.eaza.net) — A friend of mine who sits on the board of a U.S.-based zoo and botanic garden suggested supporting this organization’s emergency appeal for Ukrainian zoos, which include those at Myikolayiv, Kharkiv and Kyiv and some other smaller ones. Just click on the related button on the top page of their website and use the QR code or link to donate. This well-respected organization says it is forwarding 100% of all donations received for Ukraine.
#4. Nikolaev Zoo, Mykolaiv (http://zoo.nikolaev.ua/) — If you want to support an institution directly and immediately, this is an option. The top Trip Advisor destination in Mykolayiv pre-war, the Nikoleav Zoo’s collection includes more than 2500 animals representing nearly 400 species. If you are up for immediate, direct support, tackle this site. It’s not in English, so it’s a bit tricky to navigate but worth it to feed the animals and support brave zookeepers, so don’t give up. Try this:
1. Navigate to the website and press the red button at the top, right-hand side of the page.
2. On the next page, scroll down to find a green button to push to purchase tickets on a particular day (the lines with no green bars means those days are sold out).
3. Select the number of tickets you’d like from the pull down (I purchased 10, and it was 1000₴, about $34).
4. After you pick the number of tickets you’d like, a green bar appears at the bottom right. Press it.
5. On the next page enter your email only (skip your phone number unless you have a number in Europe) and a code will be sent to your email. When you receive it, enter it in the box where the cursor is waiting.
6. Once you’ve entered your email and code, a green bar appears, top right. Press it.
7. On this next page, press yet another green bar which will take you to a pay-out page.
My Visa was initially denied, but I was eventually able to pay out using Google pay after updating it with the same card. In the end, it was satisfying to see my payment go through. I am a glutton for punishment and returned to buy another 10 tickets.
Protecting Wild Animals — According to World Atlas[3] Ukraine is home to 28,000 species of animals, including native animals such as Eurasian elk, fox, marten, mouflon, roe deer, wildcat, wild pig, and wolf. Obviously, “war is not healthy for children and other living things” and Ukraine’s wildlife is no exception. This includes at least 20 endangered species,[4] one of which — the sand mole-rat — has been memorialized on a silver coin.
While your support here would be more for the longer-term, this well-respected conservation organization has been working for more than a decade to protect Ukraine’s wildlands and the animals that call them home.
#5 — Ukraine Nature Conservation Group (https://uncg.org.ua/en) — A brain trust of scientists and conservationists focused on protecting biodiversity in Ukraine by supporting existing conservation areas and creating new ones. Its donation site is now offline, so supporting them will require some footwork by way of a wire transfer. Here’s the information you’ll need which my saintly husband Mel vetted today, including confirming that our donation arrived. Be prepared to pay a fee at your bank of $35-$45:
Name: NGO Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group
Address: UA 08600 Kyiv Vasylkivskyi Vasylkiv str. Mykola Gogolya b.40
IBAN Code: UA183052990000026002045013729
Bank Name: JSC CB “PRIVATBANK”, 1D HRUSHEVSKOHO STR., KYIV, 01001, UKRAINE
SWIFT Code: PBANUA2X
In addition, you may need to provide information on this “correspondent bank”:
Bank: JP Morgan Chase Bank, New York, USA
Account: 001–1–000080
SWIFT CODE: CHASUS33
In 2020, the World Wildlife Fund officially joined a network of conservation organizations teaming in the Ukraine. It’s not included here because at this writing I couldn’t find a way to earmark donations specifically for efforts in the Ukraine. I ran into similar situations with Conservation International, and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance which has partnerships to protect habitat and wildlife around the world. That could change though, so keep a lookout (and I will too).
Over the centuries, authors, poets, philosophers, and civic leaders alike from Robert Lewis Stevenson to Cesar Chavez have recognized that the moral progress of a society can be measured by the way it treats animals.
Let’s measure up.
Leslie Baer Dinkel is founder of the non-profit organization Local Hope. For three decades, the organization has delivered emergency relief and critical resources to underserved communities in the Guatemalan highlands in support of self-reliance. She is the author of the book Hope Dancing: Finding purpose and a place to serve among the Maya.
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Want to Do More to Help Support Ukraine?
If you find yourself with at least 10 minutes and the passion to help stop the war and support Ukrainian families, check out “It’s Time to Flex Your Superpowers” for some ideas. “Boycotting Made Easy ” is a cut-and-paste tool kit you can use to encourage companies fueling the war to stop operating in Russia, for now. If you are finding what I’m writing helpful, I invite you to pass along the links to others, and to Follow me on Medium.
[1] The power of the dog and how pets are helping Ukrainians cope with war, NPR https://www.npr.org/2022/03/12/1085971965/power-of-the-dog-ukraine-war-pets-russia
[2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1264408/average-size-of-households-in-ukraine/
[3] https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/animals-that-live-in-ukraine.html
