The German Animal Welfare Federation will continue to provide technical support for the work of the “Taskforce Ukraine” in the coming year and support it financially with a further 20,000 euros. Until now, the task force at the European animal welfare umbrella organization “Eurogroup for Animals” has concentrated on direct aid for pets and street animals and has coordinated evacuations, castrations and food deliveries in Ukraine. With a view to possible EU accession and the reconstruction of the country, agricultural systems and the handling of wild animals within Ukraine are now also coming more into focus. The task force plans to accompany Ukraine's protracted EU accession process and thus also the adaptation of Ukrainian animal welfare standards to European law.
“The German Animal Welfare Federation has a historical connection to Ukraine that goes back almost 25 years through its work for street animals and its own animal welfare and castration center in Odessa. For us, animal welfare does not stop at borders, which is why we see supporting Ukraine in times of war as a task of practical and political animal welfare in Germany and Europe,” says Luca Secker, who is a member of the ‘Taskforce Ukraine’ as a specialist for animal welfare abroad at the German Animal Welfare Association.
The task force is currently developing animal welfare solutions for dealing with street dogs and cats and offering support to the Ukrainian authorities. “Our experience in managing street dogs and cats in Odessa can now also benefit animals throughout Ukraine thanks to the task force,” says Secker. The success of the Taskforce's political lobbying work is already evident in the fact that it has been able to contribute to a nationwide government project for the identification and registration of dogs and cats and advise the responsible ministries and authorities. Experience gained from the project is to be incorporated into possible future legislative processes. The task force also provides support for animal welfare issues in the course of EU accession negotiations. The relevance of other animal welfare issues is increasing and moving into the task force's sphere of activity.
“The animal welfare problems in Ukraine are also relevant for the rest of Europe. In the task force, we are concerned with how agriculture can be organized and financed in the course of reconstruction, how opening Ukraine's borders will affect the illegal puppy trade or how we can take preventive action against rabies and other infectious diseases that could be introduced,” explains Secker. The task force has already succeeded in ensuring that animal welfare was explicitly included as an objective in the “Ukraine Facility Mechanism” - an EU instrument endowed with 50 billion euros to support Ukraine's reconstruction by 2027.
About the “Taskforce Ukraine”
The Ukraine Taskforce was set up immediately after the start of the war in 2022 to support Ukraine through the European animal welfare family under the umbrella of the animal welfare umbrella organization “Eurogroup for Animals”, especially in times of Russia's war of aggression. Head Valentyna Vozna brings together the expertise of the member organizations within the task force and mediates between them and organizations in Ukraine. She conducts political discussions with contacts in the Ukrainian authorities and ministries and at EU level.
