UAnimals on the condition of the animals evacuated from Oleshky

During the evacuation, residents of Oleshky left with their pets. Photo: screenshot/UAnimals

Alongside the residents of the occupied town of Oleshky, who were suffering from a humanitarian crisis, their pets were evacuated to territory controlled by Ukraine, as were stray animals without owners.

Experts are currently assessing the condition of the cats and dogs, the animal welfare organisation UAnimals told «Ukrainska Pravda».

So far, no owners have collected their animals, but residents of Oleshky are already contacting the organisation to enquire about the fate of their pets.

Volunteers explained that they began organising assistance for the animals a day before their evacuation from Oleshky. As there were no precise figures on the number of animals, their species or their state of health, the organisation says it «prepared for various scenarios».

«For wild animals, we made arrangements for them to be transferred to a rehabilitation centre; for pets, we arranged for them to be examined at veterinary clinics and, if necessary, placed in shelters.

We made arrangements with clinics and shelters, and prepared food, water, cages, carriers and other essential items,» the volunteers explained.

Two teams from the organisation, including four team members and a vet, set off to meet the buses carrying people and animals.

Once the convoys had crossed the border with Belarus, the dogs and cats were collected and transported to a veterinary clinic.

According to the latest estimates, there are more dogs than cats. At present, they are all receiving the necessary care and food.

«They have all been accommodated and provided with water and food. Today, the vets began their examinations. All the animals are alive, but some of them are weak. We will be able to provide more details about their health and the care they need once the examinations are complete.

We have already counted the animals and drawn up a list of them. The next step is to digitise the information about each animal so that, together with the Ombudsman’s Office, we can work on returning those with families to their carers,» added UAnimals.

At present, the organisation does not have precise information on the number of evacuated animals, as they continue to receive animals that owners have taken with them to hospitals.

«This is a complex humanitarian operation: new information continues to come in, and we are taking it into account in our ongoing work. We will be sharing details about the animals’ condition and the assistance they are receiving on our social media channels,» the organisation assured.

As a reminder, the mission to evacuate residents of Oleshky concluded on 31 October. People were taken out of the occupied town by bus and then flown to Belarus. From there, the Ukrainians reached territory controlled by Ukraine.

According to the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, people took their pets with them during the evacuation, including dogs, cats, a parrot and even a raccoon. Special transport equipped with cages was organised to transport the animals.

The oldest person evacuated from Oleshky is 94 years old, whilst the youngest is just over a year old. Among those who managed to leave were residents not only of Oleshky but also of neighbouring settlements. On the buses, people sang the Ukrainian national anthem.