We appeal to the Council and the European Commission to act and enable the world to help the animals of Ukraine.

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. We have been at the border since the first day of the war until today. We have set up a help center for animals. Convoys of the Centaurus Foundation have already saved almost 1,000 animals from bombed Ukraine, we have transported over 90 tons of animal food and a large amount of medications. Today we are fighting bureaucracy. We are fighting for regulations that will allow animals to be evacuated from the war zones.

The regulations regarding the entry for animals change constantly, mainly at night. While at the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine, we were able to evacuate animals without any problems across the polish, slovakian and romanian border, the changing positions of the authority bodies made it practically impossible to evacuate farther thousands of animals from Ukraine, which condemns them to death by starvation, shooting or bombing . Centaurus convoys are ready to evacuate several thousand animals from the war area. We already have safe and proven places for all the animals, because the world wants to help save those lives that are not to blame for this war. Unfortunately, from March 23, 2022, the Polish border practically does not allow shelter or homeless animals to pass, and returns them back to Ukraine, where the war has flared up. Many times, both us and other organizations from around the world stood on the border for 2 days with animals and were not let through. Camps are slowly being built near the border, where animals that have been withdrawn from the border are kept.

The current situation is as follows: after repeated changes to the guidelines for the admission of animals from Ukraine to the EU through the Polish border, the transport of homeless animals and from Ukrainian shelters is possible only after meeting all standard EU requirements. These include: titration, rabies vaccination, passport, chip, sometimes Trace (titration is performed 30 days after vaccination). Despite the fact that so far organizations have vaccinated and chipped animals and quarantined them on the territory of the Republic of Poland, we will now be forced to open "transit centers" on the territory of Ukraine and at the Polish border to wait for all requirements to be met.

We demand the situation to be recognized as exceptional. We demand guidelines to be issued introducing procedures enabling the evacuation of homeless animals as well as those from shelters from Ukraine to pro-animal organizations in Poland. We do not evade the obligation to comply with infectious regulations, but to enable us to perform these procedures on the territory of Poland.

We therefore appeal to the Council and the European Commission to act immediately and enable the world to help the animals of Ukraine. We call for animal transports not to be blocked at the border. We call for provision of help by border vets in prepared quarantine places, taking into account the realities of the situation. Only unified and clear regulations and the cooperation of pro-animal organizations can save thousands of animal lives.

Your vote counts in this war too. Your voice saves lives. Sign the petition and help us save thousands of Ukrainian animals from death in the war!