What we’re doing

Ukraine has tougher animal cruelty punishments than the UK, carrying a jail sentence of up to eight years, but the cases have to reach court first, which means animal welfare volunteers and the police must be able to work together. 

So far, we’ve visited and trained police forces in 10 Ukrainian Cities, shown by the red markers on the map. Not only that, but the police forces of 21 cities (the green markers) also took part in World Animal Day, which shows incredible support for animals and our project. 

Image – police training in Dnipro, the location of the brutal killing of 21 people in 2007 by a group of young men whose criminal lives began with torturing street animals

The ‘Safer Dog Training Manual’

As well as our training on how to investigate animal abuse, and why it is a critical issue for communities, we also trained the police in safer dog handling, in conjunction with Brain Faulkner, an expert dog control trainer who has worked around the world.

To support this, we created a guide that police officers can refer to – the ‘Safer Dog Training Manual’. 

We presented the manual at Police Headquarters in February 2020 and, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we have managed to distribute 1000 copies around Ukraine, with the help of the patrol police officers.

The purpose of this training is to reduce injuries to animals, police officers and members of the public and to further enhance our message that animal welfare matters.