To: European Commission and other authorized agencies from European countries receiving Ukrainian war refugees

Request: Prolong the simplified pet import procedure for Ukrainian refugeese, help war zone survivors, travelling through Russian territory, take their pets with them 

We represent volunteers assisting Ukrainian citizens who were displaced to Russian Federation from the warzone and wish to relocate to the EU afterwards.

We believe that everyone understands that refugees escaping warzone experienced suffering beyond imagining. But not everyone knows that lots of them risk their lives triying to take their pets with them into the evacuation.

The recent catastrophe at the Nova Kakhovka HPP has led again to a growth in the number of refugees moving across Russian land to Europe. These people often come with absolutely no belongings, but they bring pets they managed to save. Such people have just evacuated from the flood area. Now this wave is reaching European borders.

Yet some of the European countries including those bordering on Russia and receiving refugees from most endangered regions are now recalling the simplified procedure for pet import into the EU:

Finland starting 1 July 2023,Estonia starting 15 June 2023, Austria, Belgium and Germany starting 15 June 2023 and Norway starting 1 July 2023. Poland which already has very strict animal import rules is introducing even stricter regulations starting with 1 July 2023, etc.

It means that a dog from Oleshki village that has spent a week in the attic of a sunken house together with its mistress, will be unable to accompany her to Estonia. It means that kittens and a hamster rescued by children from Nova Zburivka will remain in Russia (and this is the best-case scenario).

By canceling simplified requirements for pet import the European Commission and EU countries are forcing those who love their pets to remain in the war zone, in areas close to the front line (and put their lives in danger). Because many are unwilling to leave their pets behind.

Those families that want to get out of Russia and keep their pets would have to stay in Russia for four additional months in order to comply with all EU veterinary import requirements. This 4-month delay is a very heavy financial burden for these families.

Canceling the simplified import procedure will make a lot of animals homeless. It would cause unnecessary and unjust suffering that we have to prevent and would mean a terrible mistake that will lead to tragedies in hundreds of Ukrainian families.

We call on all those who can somehow influence the decisions of the European Commission and other authorized agencies to raise their voices in support of further prolongation of the simplified pet import procedure for Ukrainian refugees.

It will be a right, merciful, and responsible decision. Thank you for your help!