Ukraine's Zoo's in Crisis
Apart from coming out of a long winter where the visitor attendance drops to zero, you may know about the extreme political and economic unrest in Ukraine presently, but what you may not be aware of is the effect it is having on the animals at some of the Ukrainian zoos. While many of us are consumed with our own needs and daily lives, sometimes there are others who occasionally need our assistance in order to survive through an immediate crisis. Please take a minute to learn about this very important initiative and what LAEO is doing to handle it.

Right now, in Ukraine, there are thousands of animals at the mercy of kind people under intense economic duress willing to donate food and supplies in order to ensure the animals stay alive. Their government is having to make extremely difficult economic choices and the zoo has fallen off the priority list.  At the Nikolaev Zoo, there are  6000 animals on the brink. There is only enough food left for the carnivores to eat today and tomorrow. The herbivores have enough to last two more weeks. Medical supplies have run out. The zoo will not have the resources to take care of these needs until the end of April when the weather gets warmer and the fees from zoo attendance go into a viable range. 

Based on Lawrence Anthony's extraordinary rescue initiative of the Baghdad Zoo during the Iraqi war, we have been in direct communication with Nikolaev Zoo and let them know that we are taking this situation on.

We must raise the funds necessary to cover about $3,000 per day to handle the animals' most basic subsistence needs of food and medical supplies for the next three months. In four to six weeks, when the weather begins to warm up, the admissions collected by visitors to the zoo will begin to help feed the animals, as well. But we need the breathing room to be able to then begin to help the zoo officials create and implement new forms of income streams so that they can become more self-sustainable and not so dependent on government funding. We want to make sure that not one animal perishes in the present crisis.

For those of you familiar with what Lawrence had to deal with in Baghdad, you know how quickly things can get very bad.  In just 9 days, before he arrived, that zoo went from 600 animals down to 35.  Most died from starvation and dehydration.

We are asking you to help us ensure that none of these animals die on our watch.  Your donation - small or large - will go a long way in helping get this situation turned around. The Director of our Ukrainian Chapter, Lionel de Lange, is committed to ensuring that all funds received go directly towards the food and care of the animals.

You CAN make a difference.

We thank you in advance for your help, and will keep you closely updated on our progress.

Please click HERE to make a donation right now! Use the drop down tab on the donations page and select "Zoo's in Ukraine"

Sincerely,
Denise Read
Director of Development 

Future Projects

Homeless Cats & Dogs in Nikoleav
Nikolaev has a staggering amount of homeless animals, many of which are fed by residents of the city that sometimes battle to feeds themselves.
More on this to follow....

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