Humanitarian mission transports families; cares for pets left behind
ARA (Animal Rescue Algarve) is still on the âfrontlineâ of humanitarian efforts going on along the Polish/ Ukraine border.
In spite of all the footage showing refugees fleeing with their pets, the truth is thousands of animals have had to be âleft behindâ.
Very often their owners are told âyou can get on this bus, but you canât bring your cats/ dogs or other animals’.
There is no choice â and this is why so many animal-focused NGOs are also struggling to help in the chaos of the worst conflict in Europe for decades.
ARAâs latest âpostâ from the warzone says its volunteers are âclocking up kilometers on horrendous roads, full of trafficâ, undertaking long journeys relocating people and their animals.
The team most recently carried one family (two women, a child and a man, plus their dog) to ânew futures in Franceâ â a journey of over 40 hours.
But the conditions of animals stacked up to try and get into Poland are so bad (âwithout any level of cleanliness/ hygiene or healthâ) that some of the shelterâs volunteers made the decision to cross the border into Ukraine, to try and help speed up the process.
As days go by – and more and more citizens are displaced (only today, for example, people in the areas around Kharkiv, Lugansk and Donetsk have been told to evacuate immediately) –Â shelters for animals on the Polish side of the border have been completely filled.
This has seen ARA volunteers driving long distances, to find shelters further afield with space.
No one knows when these animalsâ owners will be coming back.
No one can be sure which animal even has an owner any more.
ARAâs mission set out for Poland in the middle of last month. It has already received exposure in Expresso â and is working in collaboration with a number of foreign animal-based charities, including Fundacja ADA, DIOZ and Schronisko Pegasus, from Poland as well as a German delegation from PETA.
To follow progress, click here and here
