A charity fears Europe could see an explosion of rabies after nearly a million stray dogs and cats were left to wander the streets of Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Animal-lover Daniel Fine has created the non-profit Ukraine War Animals Rescue Fund (ARF) to help deal with the problem.
With the support of a team and cutting-edge technology, ARF has so far raised £200,000 from GoFundMe to help reunite pets with their owners.
He said: "Day by day, the crisis is worsening, and it's up to us to rise to the challenge. These animals face a daily struggle for survival and pose a significant risk of spreading diseases, including rabies, which could have catastrophic consequences for the entire region.”
After Russia’s invasion, Fine and Tana Axtelle co-founded the non-profit with the motto "stopping an avalanche,” with a goal to raise £12million to spay, neuter, vaccinate, and microchip dogs and cats in Ukraine for recovery purposes, using facial recognition, blockchain and NFT technologies supplied by Microsoft to reunite pets with their owners. “Luckily we have the tools to help avoid a massive rabies outbreak,” Fine added. “With the generosity of so many fellow pet lovers and Microsoft, we are getting the support needed to help lost and wandering dogs and cats with nowhere to go and nothing to eat."
This week, ARF mobilized and dispatched a new team composed of members from Seattle, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Denmark to work with Ukrainian veterinarians to nourish and treat stray dogs and cats. Previous missions have delivered 40 tons of food and other supplies for stray dogs and cats in Ukraine, and sterilized, vaccinated and microchipped over 4,000 animals.
ARF has streamlined the processes of capturing dogs and cats, operating on them, and reuniting them with their owners or helping them get adopted. The organization has 225 veterinarian locations available to treat 500,000 cats and dogs, giving them a fighting chance in preventing a rabies outbreak in Eastern Europe.
"We have the infrastructure and the expertise, now we need the donations to make this happen. We’re a nonprofit society of passionate animal lovers who refuse to stand by while an explosion of animal overpopulation occurs, especially when we can do something about it.”
