Ukraine, November 2021 – Law 2351
November 2021 is a very significant month for Ukraine animal welfare. After 2 long years of fighting and struggle, Law 2351 finally comes into force. It is a law that will protect even more animals and improve the welfare of so many.
This last week in Ukraine gave some examples of how lives of animals have changed for the better over recent years, and how Naturewatch Foundation supporters have played a large part in making Law 2351 a reality.
Now that animal abuse crimes are taken more seriously and animals are treated with compassion, this will have a positive knock-on effect on other levels of crime throughout Ukraine. Communities are now not only a safer place for animals, but also children, victims of domestic abuse and family violence.
A police officer and his cats
Arthur Shkrob was the head of the patrol police in Chernivtsi when I visited in June 2019. He understood what our animal abuse training was about and once we had left he very quickly led his team to the local rescue centre to make a video about why it was important to help rescued and abused cats and dogs. Since then, animal welfare in Chernivtsi has made enormous progress.
There are now regular joint volunteer and police events in the city to remind owners of their responsibilities with pets, but also to encourage families to find homes for otherwise unwanted or abandoned animals. This kind of community policing pays other dividends because when the police are shown to be compassionate, they are seen as more approachable to human victims of abuse. This results in fewer dark corners for criminals and abusers to hide.
Officer Shkrob has now been posted to a new city and this week posted a message across Ukraine about his love for animals. He has adopted three cats. ‘Fenyk’ was born with genetic defects such as a deformed tail and problems with her jaw. ‘Marfa’ was beaten by her old owners, taken away by the police and has since found a welcoming new home with Arthur. The third cat who has no name yet but was found in the road and rescued from being run over.
Our ‘hero’ police officer posts on social media across the country to remind everyone about the new Law 2351, a law that will make punishments much tougher on those who choose to abuse animals. And of course, Arthur has already started to help find new homes for animals in his new police district.
Kharkiv
Naturewatch Foundation has an excellent, professional representative in Kharkiv and as Campaign Manager I had the opportunity to visit this city on the Russian border in August 2019 to train the police and animal groups. Naturewatch Foundation featured on a prime TV piece on the Kharkiv news channels where I could spread the word about why animals are important, why abusing them was often an indicator of other crime and how Ukraine animal welfare can be improved.
There have been problems in recent years concerning Municipal ‘street animal’ policy in Kharkiv and another section of Law 2351 was specifically written and designed to help address the use of mass euthanasia to control stray animal populations. This is an archaic and downright horrific method of ‘managing’ street animals and has no place in any modern society.
In Kharkiv this week the local courts upheld a series of judicial decisions that will make some real changes. It should mean that no more animals will be destroyed without attempts being made to find good homes for them. We will monitor these legal decisions carefully, but all the signs are that this will save many (potentially thousands of) animals from being unnecessarily killed.
You can read more about our police training work in Ukraine by heading over to our campaign page.
A changing scene for Ukraine Animal Welfare
I believe that November 2021 will be a pivotal month for Ukraine animal welfare, and has only been possible as a result of the dedicated work of many volunteers, police officers like Arthur and the wonderful supporters of Naturewatch Foundation.
I wanted our 2021 campaign to be about looking for ways to show a new hope and this week represents the best of that hope. I believe now that many more animals can now look forward to a better 2022.
Written by Mark Randell, Ukraine Campaign Manager
Link to Law 2351.
