Polish Trucker Blockade Threatens Animal Safety in Ukraine
PETA-supported teams have repeatedly risked their lives since the beginning of the war in Ukraine to deliver food and other vital supplies for the thousands of horses, donkeys, dogs, cats, and others who rely on it to survive. When abandoned animals sought refuge at an orphanage in Mykolaiv, the team began providing them with dog and cat food. When 35 skinny horses were in desperate need of fresh bedding and extra nutrients, the team moved mountains to secure a monthly import of straw and specialized food to help them gain weight. Thousands of other animals in Dnipro, Kharkiv, and elsewhere are also counting on the deliveries, and many more need relief—a Herculean mission month after month!
Now a trucker blockade at the Polish border with Ukraine is threatening animals’ survival. The protest is causing 28 mile–long traffic jams, and the strikers are blocking aid from reaching Ukraine.
One of the deliveries held up was PETA Germany’s monthly 40-ton shipment of food bound for animals in Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Mykolaiv.
With the animals’ food supply inside Ukraine running perilously low, PETA Germany’s partner that produces and transports the food acted fast. It deployed a group of small cars, each loaded with food, to zip through the border and bridge the gap so that no animal would face starvation. Meanwhile, the manufacturer of the shipment worked through the night, getting the head of the blockade on the phone and pleading with him to allow the food supply through.
His calls for compassion toward the animals were denied, the blockade leader refusing to accept that food for animals was aid, despite the German customs certification and papers declaring it relief and a Polish registration showing that the delivery was official aid.
PETA Germany refused to give up, and the PETA-supported transporter persisted, risking everything in order to enter Ukraine.
After a frigid 12 hours, PETA Germany’s food delivery was finally able to cross into Ukraine, and the transporter delivered the vital food supply!
PETA-supported teams determined to help animals will do everything they can to return to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, they’ve risked everything to rescue more than 13,000 animals and deliver more than 3 million pounds of food and supplies to those who would otherwise have no hope.
PETA Helps Animals in Times of War
When humans wage war, everyone suffers—certainly including our fellow animals. In this video, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk calls for understanding of each other and an end to violence everywhere and for everyone and makes the case that while most of us are powerless to bring about peace, we can choose nonviolence daily by leaving animals off our plates and backs.
PETA Calls On United Nations to Help Animals in Gaza
For animals in Gaza who teams are unable to reach, PETA has sent an urgent letter to Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres asking him to ensure that essential supplies are added to aid deliveries going into Gaza so they can reach animals in desperate need.
Rescued in Ukraine: How We’ve Been Helping Animals
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, PETA Germany and its partners have been on the ground building a robust network of rescue workers, volunteers, and activists to help as many animals as they possibly can. You can support this work through PETA’s Global Compassion Fund.
