Themes by tag: animals

The Rivne Zoo offers tours for defenders undergoing rehabilitation. Guests can take a walk around the zoo, watch the animal’s feeding process, and get involved under the supervision of specialists. Tours give an inside look at African lions, Amur tigers, various primates (feline lemurs, Japanese macaques), and many other species of animals. There is also an opportunity to experience up-close encounters with some zoo inhabitants (horses, ponies, turtles, dwarf goats, and sheep). The tour can last 1.5-2 hours. Employees take into account the health status of the defenders and adjust the route and program for their comfortable rest.

• animals
• military
• Rivne

Before becoming a farmer, Natalia Koval taught at the Kharkiv National University of Economics. In 2011, her husband suggested starting a farm and Natalia agreed. In 2022, their family farm in one of the villages of Kharkiv region had more than three hundred cows and 12 employees. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the farm was occupied.

Families with children remained in the village, and the farm became their salvation. After all, milk was distributed there for free, as well as bread baked by farm employees. The farm had its own generator, and thus electricity. Sometimes one could even catch a mobile connection there.

Occupiers took Natalia’s husband “to the basement,” he miraculously managed to get out. Today, the farm is recovering after all the horrors it experienced.

For reference: on September 6, 2022, Ukrainian troops launched a major counteroffensive in Kharkiv region. Subsequently, Kharkiv region was completely de-occupied.

• animals
• occupation
• volunteers
• women
• Kharkiv

Marta Klok started volunteering back in 2021. At that time, the girl worked with a charity initiative that supported lonely blind Ukrainians. This year, Marta took up the task of rescuing animals that remained in the front-line zone. Together with the team of “Zhmut Shchastia” (bundle of happiness) charitable foundation, the girl is evacuating animals from the east to Lviv. The team tries to get new families to adopt these animals while transporting them, and those that need medical attention are taken to veterinarians. The foundation functions exclusively through benefactors’ contributions.

Marta is currently in Lviv, ready to communicate with journalists online and offline. By prior agreement, journalists are welcome to cover the evacuation process.

• animals
• volunteers
• Lviv

Before the full-scale invasion, Yurii Yahusevich was working in the music industry organizing music festivals. He also had horses at the farm. Among the animals bought by Yurii, one happened to be of the Polissia breed. As it turned out, this breed has almost disappeared. Therefore, the man decided to revive it in Ukraine.

Yurii built the “Shcherbati Tsugli” farm in the north of Kyiv region, because there was enough space for a small herd. Before the invasion, Yurii and a team of enthusiasts took the young horses away from the border, but seven adult animals remained. They found themselves under occupation. Although they were not harmed by enemy shelling, they were left without pasture. After all, the area where they used to graze is now littered with unexploded ordnance, and in some places it may be mined. As of now, Yurii brought the animals to Rzhyshchiv, Kyiv region, and is looking for a place where 24 horses could be grazed. Military personnel come to Yurii to ride the horses, so do ordinary residents of Kyiv region who are interested in horses. The man does not take the fee for the ride, but asks to donate to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 

• animals
• occupation
• Kyiv

In Kyiv, animal-assisted therapy classes are held for defenders undergoing treatment. A pilot rehabilitation project therapy sessions with animals for the military take place in one of the capital’s medical institutions. The Kyiv Zoo joined the project. (All animals are closely monitored by veterinarians and have the necessary vaccinations.)

For reference: Animal-assisted therapy is a type of therapy that incorporates interaction with animals. The therapeutic intervention aims to improve the patient’s social, emotional, or cognitive functions.

• animals
• doctors
• military
• psychological support
• Kyiv

In a training center in Kharkiv region, dogs are being trained to help to demine the Ukrainian lands. The project was launched by Anti-Terrorist Operation veteran and professional dog trainer Serhii Lukinov last November. The Ukrainian Veterans Fund helped with the funding. Currently, 5 German shepherds are being trained at the center. All of them are less than a year old. They are being taught to look for explosives.

For reference: Serhii has been working as a dog trainer for 37 years. In particular, in 2021, a man trained guide dogs. However, during russia’s full-scale invasion, Serhii once again volunteered to defend the country. The man is currently undergoing rehabilitation.

• animals
• military
• Kharkiv

The All-Ukrainian Center for the Adoption of Homeless Animals “Patron Pets Center” launched a new project entitled “Walk with me.” Its purpose is to socialize four-legged friends. Those who are willing to take part in the project can walk animals in the center of the capital every day from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, and from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

“Patron Pets Center” cooperates with volunteers who evacuate animals from regions suffering from russia’s full-scale invasion. So, for example, the Center recently sheltered more than a hundred pets from Kherson region. Volunteers also bring animals from Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions.

In Kyiv, “Patron Pets Center” provides shelter to animals, rehabilitates them and helps to find owners.

• animals
• volunteers
• Kyiv

The Hospitals project aims to help animals and evacuate them from the war zone. It is a joint initiative of the Hospitallers Medical Battalion and the Khvostati (‘Tailed animals’) NGO, which is involved in animal care and rehoming.

The project team comprises experienced veterinarians and volunteers who rescue injured animals using mobile hospital units and an evacuation bus. Subsequently, the evacuated animals found new homes in safe areas.

Over the previous two trips, the project has rescued 80 animals from the affected Kherson region.

• animals
• volunteers

Canine specialists of Base 4.5.0. the Center for Innovative Military Rehabilitation will hold canine therapy sessions in the capital. Several trained dogs were chosen for therapy: Welsh corgi Foksi and Laisve, German boxer Linda, and Yorkshire terrier Shusha. The center experts say that during their first sessions they worked with the children who had stopped speaking after the beginning of russia’s invasion. However, after working with animals, the children started talking again. Canine therapists say that working with dogs normalizes the work of the nervous system, reduces stress, conflict and anxiety.

For reference: Canine therapy is a method of positive psychosocial and physical rehabilitation influence on people with the help of specially trained dogs. It is one of the methods of zootherapy.

• animals
• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

In the Zhytomyr region, rehabilitation classes with horses are being held for wounded soldiers and veterans as part of the “Hippotherapy – Back in Life’s Saddle” project. The equine-assisted therapy program includes feeding the animals, engaging in activities with them, and riding with an experienced instructor. All this is free of charge. Classes are held outdoors.

For reference: Hippotherapy is a method of treatment based on human interaction with a specially trained horse adapted to the rider’s ability to master riding.

• animals
• military
• psychological support