FOUR PAWS in South Africa
FOUR PAWS in South Africa
Ukraine War:
Situation and Support for Animals
Help for stray animals
Donations for our 'Stray Animal Care project' can be made here.
Help for bears
Follow us!
Stay up to date on this topic and on all FOUR PAWS activities on our social media channels: Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Further Information
ALL updates
A new sanctuary update
Despite the current circumstances, our on-site team is not sitting still and is caring for 36 rescued bears. While most of the bears are still in hibernation, some are waking up and slowly getting active, and are starting to eat small amounts of food. Popeye and Asuka, two of our newest members since the emergency rescue with our partner White Rock Bear Shelter, are carefully exploring their new surroundings.
Help for Ukrainian pets in Romania
Together with our partner Animal Society, our team in Romania is responding swiftly to the current crisis. We are assisting Ukrainian refugees who are arriving with their pets at the Bucharest Northern Railway Station after a long and exhausting journey. The team has set up a comfortable tent in the railway hall to welcome refugee families and their pets so that they can have a minute to breathe and recover from what they have been through. Afterwards they receive much-needed items such as food, bowls, transport cages, leashes, collars, toys, and blankets. To make sure the animals are prepared for the next step in their journeys, our veterinarians provide free first aid care as well as deworming, microchipping, and vaccination against rabies.
Released into outdoor enclosure
Seven bears were transferred from White Rock Bear Shelter to BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr. The two cubs and two of the adult bears were now released into the outdoor enclosure at BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr. The bears and the team are doing well under the circumstances.
Much-needed food for shelter dogs
Yesterday, our AAI and SAC teams in Ukraine delivered 1.5 ton of dry dog food to Vinnytsia shelter Vinmsfa. This will help to feed approximately 320 dogs spread between Vinnytsia shelter and another local shelter for about one month. This food delivery comes as a huge relief as both shelters were starting to run out of food and the number of dogs is, unfortunately, increasing day by day.
Second emergency bear rescue
Last weekend, our BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr took in 7 new bears. On Saturday evening the first 5 bears from WHITE ROCK Bear Shelter near Kyiv arrived, as their safety near the capital could no longer be assured. Yesterday evening late, also the 2 remaining bears of the same shelter made it safe to our sanctuary. In addition to the 29 bears that BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr was already housing, these 7 bears can count on our care. Additionally, our team is assessing the situation and planning the next steps to support animals that unfortunately are still in the country. Help is needed everywhere. Will you support us to be prepared? Then make a donation now.
Emergency rescue of 5 bears
#BREAKING! Emergency rescue of 5 bears in Ukraine! In times of emergencies, we have to be ready to act fast and support one another. 5 bears were translocated in an emergency rescue operation from WHITE ROCK Bear Shelter near Kyiv, to our BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr as the shelter could no longer assure their safety. We are in constant contact with our colleagues in the country.
A thank you for all the messages
Dear friends of BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr. Let us start with saying THANK YOU. What an overwhelming amount of messages did we receive over the past few days, from all over the world. This really means a lot to us! Despite the current circumstances, our onsite team as well as the bears are doing well. Although most of the bears are still hibernating, some are awake and active like our Moris. We keep you posted. Please stay safe and take care of yourselves and your families.
Support for people and pets
FOUR PAWS welcomes the decision of the European Commission to open the EU borders to Ukrainians travelling with their pets, even without a valid pet passport and microchip. In order to support people evacuating with their pets we have set up a collaboration with our local partners in the neighbouring countries to support Ukrainian refugees with their pets should they need anything in the upcoming days and weeks. Find all the relevant info here.
An update message
from our sanctuary in these difficult times. All our staff and bears are doing well under the circumstances. Most bears are still hibernating, and those who are not – like Potap – are cared for according to their daily routines at the sanctuary. Thank you for all the supportive messages from all over the world, and to our friends from Ukraine, we say: stay strong!
Dear friends of BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr
We are deeply concerned about the current war in Ukraine. We empathise with everyone in Ukraine, humans and animals alike, our colleagues, and their families. The health and safety of our colleagues and bears is of the utmost importance to us and we continue to take care of the 29 bears in our sanctuary. Due to the current situation, the BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr will be closed for visitors until further notice. We will give regular updates. Please stay safe and take care of yourselves and your families.