CULTIVATING COMPASSION
Helping People Involves Helping Their Animals IFAW’s Efforts Providing Disaster Relief In Ukraine
80% of refugees and their pets cross into Poland, there is an over - whelming need for pet supplies and basic veterinary care. Here, IFAW assumes the management of a large makeshift blue tent, the only animal service station there helping hundreds of arriving animals. Trained IFAW responders, veterinarians and brave Ukrainian refu - gees which IFAW has contracted with for translation, rotate constant - ly in 12-hour shifts providing 24/7 access to pet food, triage veterinary care and supplies for refugees arriving with pets. At a train station in Przemyśl, thousands of refugees come and go daily, seeking a safe destination in Poland and elsewhere in Europe. Often below freezing at night and bitter cold in the day, families queue for trains all day long alongside their animals in a desperate bid to remain together. Here, IFAW has sponsored Ukrainian veterinarians working with volunteers under Polish authority. Processing up to 200 dogs and cats a day entering via train from Ukraine, the team works feverishly. The animals are often dehydrated and showing signs of hy- pothermia after their journey. Hence, wet food and other items in - cluding pet carriers, leashes and harnesses are constantly in demand to meet the needs of this daily influx of animals in crisis.
BY IFAW STAFF; EDITED BY CAM MACQUEEN
As the world witnesses the unfolding conflict in Ukraine, it is criti - cal to ask what the future holds not only for the people, but also for the animals in peril. Uniquely caught in the midst of the storm, animals often have no way of escaping the violence and suffering, no recourse to turn to for alleviation of that suffering, and no guarantee of a return to the life they once knew. The International Fund for Animal Welfare, also known as “IFAW”, a global non-profit animal welfare and conser - vation organization based in Washington D.C., is working tirelessly with partners to address this too often unmet need during these unex- pected times of crisis. The situation during the 2022 conflict between Russia and Ukraine is indeed such a time where IFAW was called to action. Its Disaster Response and Risk Reduction (DRRR) team are trained responders, made up of over 30 staff members and contractors, ready to assist however they can to serve the needs of the community in conflict while also serving the needs of its animals. Whether through emergency re- lief grants, in-field support, providing pet food and veterinary sup - plies, or coordinating the rescue and transfer of animals, the team is ready to help. The United Nations International Organization for Migration estimated that more than three million people fled Ukraine in Feb - ruary, the first month of conflict, the majority fleeing into Poland. Many brought their pets, refusing to leave them behind. Thousands of refugees have made the cold and lonely journey, most often by foot, clutching their animals tightly, striving to retain a sense of normalcy and companionship that their pets so strongly represent. IFAW has supported multiple partners helping animals and people in Ukraine and the surrounding countries. In fact, it is a relationship that has existed since 2014 during the initial hostilities, when Rus - sian troops invaded the eastern region of the country. IFAW partnered with animal welfare groups to provide critical support as they slowly rebuilt their shelters, homes, and ultimately, their lives. Recognized as one of the top disaster response organizations, IFAW’s rescue work is not confined to war zones. The organization regularly assists in natu - ral disasters including hurricanes, bushfires, floods, and earthquakes. To name just a few. When IFAW first arrived in the conflict zone, its first priority on the ground was to understand the scale of unmet needs for shelters, ani- mals, people and their pets. Early on, it was deemed best for the safety of the response team to concentrate its relief efforts in the Polish cities of Medyka and Przemysl, where an estimated 80,000 refugees had been entering Poland daily, many with pets. On average, veterinary teams processed 500 to 600 animals per day, vaccinating and micro - chipping over 12,000 pets since the conflict began. IFAW and its partners have worked to ensure they are prepared for a whole spectrum of needs from incoming refugees and their animals. The need is often greatest for pet food to stave off the animal’s hun - ger; for blankets to provide warmth from the frigid temperatures of this long and treacherous journey. Some refugees arrive at the border knowing they will not be able to care for their animals any longer, but were determined to get them to safety. Choosing to relinquish them, they have entrusted them to the care of IFAW and its shelter partners. Without an end in sight to the current conflict, no one knows what the future holds. Some pets may indeed go on to be reunified with their owners; others will be adopted out, finding forever homes locally or throughout Europe. At a key border crossing station near Medyka, where an estimated
Dr. Markee Kuschel from Greater Good Charities and IFAW responder Diane Tread- well fit one of Ukrainian refugee Liudmyla’s cats with a harness. Photo: Dominica Mack / © IFAW IFAW’s assistance to animals is not limited to domestic pets. Re - cently, the team awarded an emergency grant to ‘Save Wild’s White Rock Bear Shelter’, a bear rehabilitation center in Chubyns’ke, out - side of Kyiv. Staff and volunteers sheltered in place to care for their animals after armed conflict near the city intensified. With a grant from IFAW, the center was able to purchase much-needed food and supplies for the bears under their care, successfully evacuating and relocating them to the Four Paws’ Bear Sanctuary Domazhyr in the Lviv region of Ukraine. IFAW also provided another emergency grant to the Ukrainian Independent Ecology Institute to support food, vet - erinary and staff costs for the Institute’s bat rehabilitation center in Ukraine. That’s right — bats. And then there is the ongoing collaboration with the Poznań Zoo in Poland to provide temporary shelter and care for wildlife rescued from the conflict in Ukraine. The range of animals is diverse, the needs of each even more so. Through it all, the staff of the zoo have risked their own lives transporting these animals to safety. IFAW understands this well — each individual animal matters. One story that has resonated with many on the ground has been that of 31-year-old Alina, recently deaf in one ear a result of the ceaseless bombings she’s endured. Roughly six days earlier, Alina, her mother, and her three cats, Buck, Tom and Marysia, escaped from a basement in Mariupol, a once-bustling Ukrainian port city of 450,000, relent - lessly shelled and surrounded by Russian forces. continued on page 37
PATHWAYS—Summer 22—15
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