Aid project launched to feed thousands of animals in Ukrainian shelters

A new aid project has been launched to feed animals in hundreds of shelters across Ukraine. Animal rights organization Four Paws said it is partnering with Animal ID and Dogs Trust Worldwide to launch the aid project, called UPAW, for the Ukrainian Pet Association Worldwide.

UPAW will soon be accepting donations to buy dog ​​and cat food, pledging to distribute it “equitably to hundreds of animal shelters in war-torn Ukraine.”

The website, which is in its final stages, will serve as a platform for animal shelters to register and share their most pressing needs with the organization. Food for animals is a high priority.

Four Paws also said special warehouses are being set up to distribute pet food nationwide.

Even without the finished website, UPAW has so far managed to distribute “over 176 tons of pet food to just over 100 animal shelters in Kyiv, Kharkiv and many other cities. This corresponds to the care of more than 100,000 dogs and cats.”

Larger Ukrainian animal shelters with an online presence have been able to get help in the form of cash and in-kind donations through social media. But this is not the case for the majority of public and small shelters.

UPAW wants to help those who need it most.

“Together with Dogs Trust Worldwide, we are helping our Ukrainian partner Animal ID fund the UPAW website and logistics platform. Once the website is up and running, we will be able to offer any animal shelter or animal welfare volunteer registered and verified requesting pet food and other supplies,” said Manuela Rowlings, manager of Four Paws Stray Animal Aid (SAC).

“Pet food suppliers can also provide in-kind donations for later distribution to animal shelters in Ukraine. This transparent system helps ensure that relief supplies are collected centrally and distributed fairly and evenly to those in need across the country,” she said.

Four Paws is a global animal welfare organization based in Vienna, Austria. The local Four Paws SAC team has been active in Ukraine since 2013 and has treated nearly 30,000 stray animals in over 60 communities.

“The team in Ukraine usually runs a mobile clinic that conducts castration-by-capture, vaccination and repatriation projects in various communities across the country. Due to fighting and roadblocks, it is too dangerous to carry out these activities in the street.

“The health and safety of our colleagues in Ukraine is of the utmost importance to Four Paws. The SAC team will continue the important work of treating, neutering and vaccinating stray cats in Ukraine as soon as it is again. possible to do so safely,” the organization said.

This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.