Actualización de la peticiónUrgent appeal: Lessen pet paperwork/cost for people fleeing with pets from Ukraine to UKImportant update and please urge UK Government to act
Katie LiLondon, ENG, Reino Unido
12 mar 2022

Hello, change-making supporters and new joiners, 

We hope you're well and welcome new supporter. We're united here on this platform to urge the UK Government to act on lessening pet paperwork, restrictions, and cost for people fleeing with pets from Ukraine to the UK. 

The Independent has reported today, March 12, 2022 that Thousands of dogs and cats face being put down and urged the UK Government to act. [Independent news article]

In our update today, we will cover:

  • Petition update and activating change
  • We need your help to build further momentum with the UK Government
  • Keeping you (our supporters) safe from scammers on the internet 

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Petition update and activating change

Together, our dear supporters, we have signed, and many of you have shared, promoted and re-shared this petition on social media. We currently have over 37,000 signatures urging the UK Government to support this significant move to help people with pets and rescued animals safely flee from Ukraine to the UK by lessening cost, paperwork and restrictions so that they can live a new life without the brutality of bombing, shelling, killing, abandonment and starvation. 

There is a silver lining and success amongst the current devastation of Russia's Government and military attack on Ukraine. As reported by registered charity PETA, over 500 cats and dogs have been rescued and some reunited with their human parent at refugee shelters. More countries are opening and relaxing rules for Ukrainians and other nationals fleeing the war zone, which is excellent news. For updates, refer to registered charities:

However, as BBC reported, out of the 2+ million people who fled Ukraine, only 50 people with British families were granted visas last week, and over 300 refugees applications were rejected. There were no mentions of pets! Is the UK letting companion animals and pets with those cases? Thousands of dogs and cats face being put down!

I wrote to my local UK MP on several occasions, addressing the situation sharing the facts and this petition; the MP was supportive in the response regarding humanitarian needs and would personally urge the UK Government to change.

What concerned me was that there was no mention of animal welfare, pets, companion animals, or rescued animals in the response. I've since contacted my local MP again (March 11, 2022) to ask for clarification - then this had me thinking. What else can we do together to urge UK Government into action? If you have ideas, we would love to hear from you as well, and please add them to the post comments.

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We need your help to build further momentum with the UK Government.

PETA UK has sent a letter to George Eustice, secretary of state for environment, food, and rural affairs, urging him to ease entry restrictions so that Ukrainian refugees may enter the UK with their companion animals. 

Here, we are campaigning for a change and urging the UK Government to respond and actually "act" to support Ukrainian via the Change.Org platform. The next action steps are to come together and send a consistent message to UK Government bodies.

IMPORTANT: How can you, your family, and your friends help right now? We can't do this alone, it will take a total of 5-10 minutes of your time, and we are grateful for any support.

A) Calling UK supporters to help action: Write a letter to your UK MP - Search MP contact via https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons you'll need to be a UK Citizen to contact UK MPs, who will generally only act on behalf of people who live in their constituency, as I have found!  

Asking all Brits, please email your local MP. You can:

  • Copy the content from the main petition page and tailor your message
  • Ask your MP to support the petition and urge the UK Government to act
  • Include your full name and postcode in the email
  • Remember to keep this factual, keep your message polite and share this petition with them

B) Calling International & UK supporters to help action: Write a letter to UK Secretary of state for Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), George Eustice 

Please get in touch with DEFRA; you can:

  • Copy the content from the main petition page and tailor your message
  • Or, take a look at PETA UK letter to DEFRA and visit PETA UK website for Update
  • Ask DEFRA to support the petition, urge the UK Government to act and lessen the restrictions
  • Include your full name and postcode in the email
  • Remember to keep this factual, keep your message polite and share this petition with them
     

C) Calling our remarkable change-makers and supporters to continue to build momentum on this journey. Here are some ideas:

  • Share this petition via social media platforms. Your voices are needed to help spread the word.
  • Share with the press, known any journalist? Please get in touch.
  • Tell the story of people with pets fleeing Ukraine.
  • Tell the Story of Gavin and Eli: An unbreakable bond between human<>pet covered in our last update March 08, 2022 [Click here for the link to Post]

Do you have ideas to help? Please share it with your fellow supporters and us; we would love to hear it and encourage you to do so as your voices matter (provide your comments in this post feed).

Our collective voice can make a change; we aim to give people with pets fleeing Ukraine a new beginning, new hope and a new home.

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Keeping you (our supporters) safe from scammers on the internet 

We truly are grateful, and our heartfelt thank you goes to you, our voices, our supporters and believers in change to help those in need. Every life matters - pets include, for the Women, Children, Pets and Men feeling Ukraine we stand together to make a difference and support you.

So, we want to take this moment to also keep you safe from scammers on this internet - those who are heartless in taking advantage of an awful situation. We will never ask for money, financial details or donations; Change.Org is the only platform we are using (if this changes, we will let you know). Please note that our updates are managed via Change.Org, and we do not have and will not expose your personal information.

Top tips:

  • Only volunteer with Registered Charities www.gov.uk/find-charity-information and www.charitynavigator.org
  • Check if social media groups and pages, e.g. Facebook, Instagram etc are legitimate, look for a registered company or charity number 
  • Avoid clicking on links that you're not aware of/report as spam
  • Check if the website is genuine by looking at their web address (URL) as scammers create fake websites
  • Check for factual news via www.snopes.com or the registered charities websites/blogs

Please take care and stay alert; we would not like to see anyone fall as a victim of scammers. 

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On a closing note,

We will update Gavin and Eli's next steps and this petition in our next post. 

For those who can help by fostering or adopting a rescue animal, please do; they need your love and care as they cannot express how they feel - it isn't just a cat or dog or animal; they are living beings like humans. 

We applaud all the fantastic, kind-hearted volunteers worldwide who provide care, send suppliers, coordinate rescue efforts and share the messages to support Ukraine. We stand with them daily. 

No matter who you are or where you are in the world. You can make a difference. Can you help us make this petition a victory? Can you help build more momentum?

*** Until our next post, stay safe, stay internet savvy and stay hopeful. ***

With love and gratitude

Friends and Family of Gavin and Eli

p.s. Give your loved ones a hug, tell them that you love them and embrace the love of your pets (aka furbabies). 

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