A fine of up to 10,000 euros, a probationary sentence or a year in jail await any resident of Italy found guilty of throwing their pet out into the street. People often abandon their pets in Ukraine, but no one is really brought to answer for this crime.
“I do not know of any precedent when someone was brought to justice for abandoning an animal in Ukraine,” animal protection campaign coordinator of the National Ecological Center of Ukraine Natalia Vyshnevska maintains. “On a purely declarative level, such behavior has been criminalized by the law of Ukraine ‘On Protection of Animals from Cruel Treatment.’ The usual sanction is an administrative penalty. But this norm is unworkable in practice, because we have ownership of the animal determined simply by someone saying ‘it is my animal.’ It is almost impossible to prove that someone abandoned an animal and should be brought to justice. The law will only become effective following a mass registration of animals.”
But what if you can no longer care for your cat or dog? The civilized approach is to place it in an animal shelter. Therefore, the existence of municipal shelters is important. Meanwhile, according to Vyshnevska, Ukrainian cities which have such institutions can be counted on the fingers of one hand: Lutsk, Odesa, and formerly Donetsk.
“Those who can no longer keep their pet should contact volunteers,” Vyshnevska explained. “Almost every town has animal protection groups now. One should explain the situation to them and place the pet with them, as well as donate some money to cover costs of the first months of your pet’s upkeep. In the meantime, volunteers rescue stray animals daily, who are injured, sick, hungry. This is routine work.”
