After the destruction of a large number of distribution centers and pet shops, the Ukrainian pet industry tries to recover and provide help for national animal shelters.
Suziria, a Ukrainian pet food manufacturer, faces a lot of problems, since its main distribution center near Kharkiv cannot be used.
“We do not have access to the significant part of the goods”, warned co-owner and CEO Polina Kosharna in a conversation with GlobalPETS.
Though, the company continued to operate last week. Also, between 55 and 70 stores of MasterZoo stayed open “depending on the safety”.
Furthermore, customers can get pet food through self-pickup in Kharkiv and Kyiv, while subsidiaries also try to deliver into safe regions.
The stores of COLLAR, a local company, were open at first, but have closed by now since one boutique was already destroyed.
“Under shelling and air raid alerts COLLAR’s pet shops worked and pet owners had an opportunity to buy food for their pets,” said the company. Furthermore, the company established a delivery service for those who could not make the way to the store.
In this hard time, several initiatives have formed helping the animals left in the Ukraine.
“Save Pets of Ukraine”, formed by local manufacturer Kormotech, has provided more than 146 tons of pet food for the last 20 days. Furthermore, it provided aid for 514 volunteers and animal shelters.
“We keep working. We are looking for opportunities to save more cats and dogs,” the company said to GlobalPETS. Kormotech also works together with Greater Good Charities from the US, that is collecting cash and product donations.
The initiative UAnimals began to rescue animals providing financial and humanitarian aid. In the last week, the organization allocated financial help to 82 shelters amounting to UAH 1,031,500 (€31,785 / $34,966).
Animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS launched the Ukrainian Pet Association Worldwide (UPAW), aiming to collect donations and facilitate the distribution of dog and cat food to hundreds of shelters in the country.
The Ukrainian Pet Association Wordwide (UPAW), initiated by FOUR PAWS, also supports national shelters distributing dog and cat food all over the country. To date, the organization could provide 176 tons of pet food to 100 shelters to Kyiv, Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities.“This equates to feeding over 100,000 dogs and cats,” said a spokesperson.
original article – 1 month of war in Ukraine: local pet industry fights to keep the business going
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