On March 7th, UAnimals celebrates its birthday. It was on this day in 2016 that the UAnimals initiative went public: its founder, Oleksandr Todorchuk, registered a page on social media platforms.
The initiative emerged to combat the exploitation of animals in circuses. However, over the past 8 years, UAnimals has significantly expanded its field of work. Now, it is composed of a team of rescuers, veterinarians, volunteers, lawyers, and people from many other professions who advocate for animals’ right to a dignified life.
“I was the only person in the initiative, gradually adding friends, acquaintances, and then volunteers,” says Oleksandr Todorchuk about the inception of UAnimals. “More and more people joined us. Soon it became clear that we were united by much more than just circus issues. Therefore, we began to address other problems and fight to solve them. In the beginning, I couldn’t even imagine how extensive this work would become.”
Thanks to the efforts of UAnimals and its partners, the use of animals in mobile exhibitions has been banned in Ukraine. They have managed to strengthen accountability for animal cruelty, prohibit photo services and begging with animals.
Moreover, last year, a law banning the use of fireworks came into effect, prepared and registered at the initiative of UAnimals.
Since 2017, UAnimals has been organizing the Animal Rights March every year in various cities of Ukraine. In 2021, it was held simultaneously in 30 cities. UAnimals draws attention to issues related to animals and the environment not only in Ukraine but also abroad.
“We talk about the environmental crimes committed in our country by Russia, and we need the world to acknowledge it,” explains Olha Chevhanyuk, head of the international department of UAnimals. “We organize demonstrations, creative initivatives, and involve embassies locally. Sooner or later, Russia must pay reparations for environmental crimes.”
With the onset of full-scale war, the UAnimals team began evacuating animals from dangerous areas. On February 24th, 2022, they helped the Right Sector battalion evacuate a wolf living with soldiers and transferred it to a rehabilitation center.
Currently, rescuers go on missions to the front-line cities and villages several times a month to evacuate animals. Often, only after this can the people who care for these animals also leave the dangerous area. “The most pleasant moment is when the animals come from the destroyed territories to families or shelters, and we know they are safe,” says rescuer Vlad Myachev. “The motivating moment is when they come out of the cage or the car, and you see that they are already happy.”
One of the important directions of UAnimals’ work is animal neutering. Stray cats and dogs are a priority, says Anastasia Heichuk, head of this direction: “We spay every day. The month starts, and I allocate a certain number of animals to each of our curators.” Last year, UAnimals sterilized about 30,000 cats and dogs.
All this is possible only thanks to donors. Support UAnimals in the fight for animal rights and their well-being!