“People who save animals show what our nation is truly like. I am not defending the country because of its territorial integrity, I am defending the Ukrainian society, I am doing it for these people. For this one too… where did he go?”
Massi Nayyem, a public figure and a soldier, is looking for his dog Barmalei, who jumped off the stage. Masi Nayyem is the guest of honor at The Ukrainian Animal Protection Award. And he came with his dog, once a stray, whom the man took from Avdiivka. Barmaley supports everyone who goes up on stage that evening with a cheerful bark. So that no one forgets who they are there for!
“With this award, we want to thank the animal rights activists and inspire them a little. Some of them have been volunteering for many years, some of them get tired and burn out. That’s why our task is to give them a little inspiration,” says UAnimals founder Oleksandr Todorchuk.
This year, the animal rights activists are being awarded for the second time. Anyone could nominate an animal rights activist, volunteer, veterinarian, etc. for the award online. In the end, UAnimals received 1,206 applications. The jury, which included representatives of Ukrainian and international animal protection organizations, was entrusted with selecting the winners from this long list. Maryna Surkova, President of the Association of Animal Protection Organizations of Ukraine, was seriously worried when she saw all those names.
“It’s scary to evaluate people. Everyone who protects animals deserves attention and gratitude. I delayed it to the last possible minute and sent my grades in the last hours.”
“Barmalei, come here,” calls out the award’s host, the head of UAnimals Communication Department Liudmyla Smoliar. The dog obeys. Of course, he does; the host has three dogs herself. Following the applause and Barmalei’s barking, the first winner finally appears on stage.
Mariia Vronska is the head of Gostomel Animal Shelter and the founder of the AdoptMe Days animal adoption project. Mariia asks all animal advocates to value not only their four-legged animals, but also themselves, and to take care of themselves. Mariia herself has plenty of energy.
“My motivation is growing every year. I am glad that there are more people who save animals, and fewer and fewer who hurt them. And when young animal rights activists come to me with fresh ideas on how to improve the lives of animals, I realize that society is moving in the right direction.”
“- And who is left with your birds?
– The sun, the wind, the rain, in two hours the stars and the moon will be with them too.”
This answer belongs to Viktor Shelvinskyi, an award winner and the founder of “Free Wings” Bird Rehabilitation Center in the Lviv region. The man treats injured and sick birds there. He says that he became infected with bird love in his childhood by his grandmother and great-grandmother. Now his center has more than 300 birds of different species.
“Birds are all about dynamics, changes… People are different, and we are just one species! And there I have at least 63 species of birds. And they differ in behavior and anatomy. It’s all a little-explored world that shows something new every season. How can you ever get bored by it?”
Olesia Leonova, also the winner of the award, traveled from Dnipro, where she left 250 cats with her husband. Olesia started taking care of the cats from a local shelter in 2012, and then they gradually moved to her house.
“I remember I had 120 cats in my apartment. The cages were up to the ceiling, we were walking sideways, it was just awful. It was necessary to build a shelter.”
Olesia designed the building herself, ensuring different entrances and exits for the cats. This is how her cat rehabilitation center came to be.
“I am motivated by the result of saving cats. They come to me sick, and then they start playing and thriving. And then they find a family. This is like air to me.”
The winner Roman Ostapchuk could not come to the award ceremony. No wonder, as he is a military man who cannot leave his position. But Roman shared his experience in the video. “We have a duty to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves,” he says. During the war, Roman rescued 16 dogs, 7 cats, several chicks and a bat.
“I picked up a bat late at night from the ground. I started looking for something to do. It was the first time I had ever seen a bat in my life… I fed it until I found a way to bring it to a center in Kharkiv.”
Alisiia Polykha has been working in the emergency animal rescue service KARG (Kyiv Animal Resque Group) for 5 years without any days off and vacations. The girl is also an award winner. The KARG team rescues animals in distress, primarily in Kyiv and its region, and during the war, the team began working in the front-line spots.
“One of the most recent things I remember is the mission to the flooded Kherson. There was more hopelessness there than even in Bakhmut, because the animals, locked or tied up, were left to die,” Alisiia said. The girl says that self-sacrifice goes hand in hand with indifference.
“Burnout comes pretty quickly. But it helps to stay afloat when you see how a once exhausted, unhappy animal, rescued with great effort, now lives in a family and is loved. And safe.”
Our next winner, Tetiana Kutsukon, is the founder of “Feniks” Charitable Foundation. She has the same goal as Alisiia from KARG, but she has a completely different lifestyle. The woman set up a shelter at her home in Boryspil, in the Kyiv region. Now there are more than 100 cats and dogs there. While taking care of all of them, Tetiana also works in a completely different field.
“I have a regular job, in logistics, and I also have a daughter… I rehome animals, but those who can’t be rehomed stay with me, usually those are the disabled, the elderly. These are the ones no one else wants, and I adore them.”
“We try to help animals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it’s the meaning of our lives,” says Olena Kotova, an award winner from Oleksandriya, in the Kirovohrad region. She is the founder of “Zoohelp” organization and sterilization center. Olena draws attention to the contribution of those who did not turn a blind eye to an animal in need.
“I am grateful to those who call me at any time of the day and say that they have found an animal somewhere. If they had not called, we would not have known about this animal and would not have helped it.”
By the way, the help is always needed, animal rights activists remind, any kind will do: “things, collars, bowls, money,” says Maryna Koretska from Bakhmut, who came to accept the award for her friend Maryna Shazhko.
Maryna Shazhko founded the shelter “Bakhmut Protection Society LADA” in the once ordinary town of Bakhmut. It remained in the city until October 2022.
“When I was leaving Bakhmut, rubble fell right next to the shelter. I thought there would be no one left alive, but everyone there survived. And then they left,” Maryna Koretska recalls with tears. When the attacks became regular, the dogs had to be prescribed calming medication, but they were still stressed and stopped eating. Maryna Shazhko and her family evacuated the entire shelter to the Dnipro region, where it is still operating today.
The residents of Bakhmut had no alternatives. Did Victoriia Kruchyna, the winner from another city on the front line, have any? “On February 27th, 2022, Russian tanks drove into my city. Leaving was out of the question.. I knew then and still know that I am needed here.”
Victoriia is talking about Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region. Victoria was the first in the city to implement a program of sterilization and vaccination of stray cats and dogs, and founded a shelter. During the occupation, she stayed in Kupiansk and continued to take care of the animals.
“The residents of our city have changed their attitude towards animals. If somewhere before 2016 people sometimes harassed those who fed animals on the street, in 2022 almost everyone joined in. And treating dogs and cats badly has become a disgrace.”
An award was also given to a resident of the border city Sumy. Ilona Dzhalahaniia, a co-founder and the head of Sumy Humane Society. She has 400 dogs under her care. Her daughter and husband, Oleksandr, who came to receive the award, help her work in the shelter and take part in evacuation trips.
“They say that even one person can make a difference. However, it is impossible to save animals alone, especially when there are many of them. We have taken in about 300 animals from the war zones. Some of them were evacuated by UAnimals rescuers. Together we can do a lot.”
Special recognitions of The Ukrainian Animal Protection Award were given to people who are most committed to preserving the wildlife of Ukraine.
One of the most pressing issues in this area is the Svydovets mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains, where developers are planning to build a giant resort. A special award was given to the Free Svydovets initiative group, which is an activist group fighting to preserve the mountain range from being built on. The award was accepted by the initiative’s representative, Tatiana Shamina. She explains, “They want to build resorts not in the valley, but in the mountains. This is a huge risk for nature. We must not let this happen, because this is the wealth of the whole Ukraine. I believe that Svydovets will be left free.”
Let’s remember a simple thing: everything in nature is interconnected. The lives of very small creatures are also important. The recipient of the next special award, Mykhailo Rusin, takes care of animals like that. He has a PhD in Biology, and he is the founder of Hamster Rescue Center, and an initiator of projects to preserve gopher colonies.
“I work with small animals, quietly and unnoticed. I hope to draw attention to them, and this will help save wild animals in their natural environment.”
Special recognitions were presented to those who made a contribution to animal rescue.
Foreign volunteers Emma Higual from Spain and Anthony Ignat from Canada took people out of the war spots. Animal rescue was not their responsibility, but they also took them and handed them over to the UAnimals team. They died during a humanitarian trip to the Donetsk region on September 9th last year.
The award was also given to French military journalist Armand Soldin, who took a weakened hedgehog out of a trench. The man was killed in the Donetsk region during a Russian shelling.
“This is about love towards life, selflessness, true service and having humanity as a value,” says Yulia Ovchynnykova, a co-head of the ‘Humane Country’ IFA.
UAnimals’ partners, namely FUIB (The First Ukrainian International Bank), UKRSIBBANK, and a video game company Room 8 Group, have been helping the animals throughout the year and also received special awards.
After the ceremony, no one stayed in the venue for long. People hurried home; some were driving, some were catching a bus or train. After all, their love and attention are eagerly awaited somewhere else.
