Ukraine is not a native habitat for neither lemurs nor pumas. But coming across these exotic animals is easier than might be expected.
Wild animals can be found right in central Kyiv and other tourist magnets like the southern city of Odesa. They are used as photo props for travelers.
Shady businesses in Ukraine have been abusing animals for years. But their era is coming to an end.
On Aug. 6, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law that bans using animals for photo services and begging — measures that local animal rights activists have demanded for years. It also strengthens a law on animal cruelty adopted in 2006 that has so far proven useless. The new legislation will come into effect in November.
Though hopes are high for the new law, it covers only a small fraction of burning animal rights issues. Unlike in many other countries, using animals in the entertainment industry is still allowed in Ukraine, which leads to cruelty in zoos, dolphinariums, circuses and elsewhere.
“In terms of animal rights, Ukraine lags behind other countries by at least 10 years,” Oleksandr Todorchuk, activist and the founder of UAnimals, a nonprofit that advocates for animal rights in Ukraine, told the Kyiv Post.
According to Todorchuk, the authorities ignore most animal protection bills — at least eight have now been submitted for the parliament’s consideration. The recently adopted law is the first animal protection legislation to be passed by the current government.
Activists have had enough. On Sept. 5, they will hold a nationwide rally in 26 cities across Ukraine to call on the authorities to act.
“We will show that there are many of us and that we need to be heard,” Todorchuk says.
Cynical business
Indian politician and activist Mahatma Gandhi once said that “the greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
By Gandhi’s judgment, Ukraine is far from being a great nation.
Cruel and bizarre entertainment is booming all over the country: Circuses are allowed to hold performances with wild animals; dolphinariums and petting zoos are hot spots among visitors. One can easily ride a horse or pony in parks in any big city in Ukraine.
Todorchuk says that using animals for human entertainment is the most “cynical business.”
“It’s abuse in its purest form. For those people, animals are just a tool to make money,” he says.
Circus animals usually are confined to small cages with little space to move around. They are beaten with batons and whips and shocked with electric prods during training. When they grow old and can no longer perform, they are either killed or transferred to restaurants or hotels to entertain guests.
Although UAnimals has been demanding to ban the use of performing animals in Ukrainian circuses for years, for now, they have only achieved a ban on the use of animals in traveling circuses.
A bear plays with a trainer at the National Circus of Ukraine in Kyiv on April 12, 2017. (Volodymyr Petrov)
Petting zoos are also horrific places for wild animals. They live in constant stress because of the visitors’ attention and are often kept in poor conditions.
UAnimals has recently rescued several bears and lions from a petting zoo in Yasnohorodka Village in Kyiv Oblast. The lions had signs of malnutrition such as rickets, a condition that results in weak or soft bones, and multiple injuries such as bone fractures.
Months after they have been rescued, the animals are still recovering.
Compared to entertainment establishments like circuses and petting zoos, it’s much harder to track wild animals being kept for photoshoots and similar purposes.
According to Todorchuk, such animals often are kept in basements or garages in “horrific conditions.” These are either wild or circus animals that have been purchased illegally. They often have no documents or vaccinations and can be dangerous to humans.
UAnimals volunteers arrange raids across the country to discover and stop the cruel business practices. They often find appalling conditions.
“They force animals to work long hours under the scorching sun with no access to drinking water,” UAnimals co-founder Olga Chevganiuk told the Kyiv Post.
One of the latest shocking animal abuse cases happened in Odesa on Aug. 15, when a horse fell and allegedly broke its leg while transporting tourists in a carriage across the city. Instead of taking the animal to the vet, its owner tried to force the animal to stand up and keep going, the UNIAN news outlet reported. The police are investigating the owner on the grounds of alleged cruelty to animals.
Few perpetrators are ever brought to justice, Todorchuk says.
Legislation failure
Although the animal cruelty law has been in force in Ukraine since 2006, activists say it has failed to protect the animals.
Todorchuk says that through animal rights activism he learned about the general problem of enforcing laws in Ukraine. According to the activist, law enforcement and the courts often neglect animal-related cases and easily give up on them despite violations.
“No one cares about the law,” Todorchuk says. “It’s a huge problem that is relevant to all other spheres — laws are simply sabotaged at all levels.”
Protesters hold a banner at an animal rights rally in Kyiv on Sept. 15, 2019. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Though news about violence against animals appears in the media almost every day, few cases are reported to the police. Neglect is expected and prosecution is rare.
In 2020, for instance, only 35 people were officially convicted for animal abuse, the State Judicial Administration told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Todorchuk estimates that there are thousands of such cases all over Ukraine.
Even if perpetrators are proven guilty, the fines are too low to stop them from engaging in additional cruelty. One may be forced to pay Hr 3,400–5,100 ($127–191) for various animal abuse.
Police neglect is a big issue. Unlike violent crimes against people, cases of animal abuse are often ignored by the police, especially outside Kyiv, Todorchuk says. According to him, even when the police arrive, they appear uneducated about animal abuse laws and sometimes even refuse to file reports.
UAnimals is currently cooperating with Kyiv police to provide them with guidance on animal abuse cases.
According to the latest Animal Protection Index (API), Ukraine has made limited changes to protect animals since the ranking was first published in 2014, “which has not resulted in an improvement in animal welfare across the country.” It also says that the current law on protecting animals from cruelty considers only a limited number of animals and crimes towards them.
“Ukrainian legislation does not notice it (animal abuse), as if it doesn’t exist,” Todorchuk says, and sometimes, “it’s simply ineffective.”
Wind of change
Activists have called on improving the law on animal cruelty for years, and the recently adopted law is a long-awaited victory for them.
Todorchuk says the new law supplements the old one: Besides exploiting animals for photographs and begging, the new legislation also prohibits using cruel methods to train animals, give animals as prizes or awards, force animals to attack each other for training and shoot at them with weapons. It also bans the promotion of animal abuse.
Keeping wild animals in restaurants and hotels, which is a popular practice to entertain guests in Ukraine, is banned as well.
Todorchuk says that some amendments also make the law broader and clearer: Cruelty is now considered to be not only “a violation of the rules of keeping animals,” but also the treatment of animals and violation of animals’ transportation. It also introduces criminal liability for bodily damage to animals.
The new law also prohibits euthanizing animals and establishes rules for the treatment of farm animals and pets. This includes a ban on leaving pets unattended or tied up in public, as well as other bans.
According to the new law, the National Police of Ukraine now has to not only respond to reported violence, but also to supervise the protection of animals from cruelty. Meanwhile, local authorities have to prevent traveling exhibitions of animals and zoos and establish a list of animals in need of protection in their region.
“It increases responsibility for animal abuse in general,” Todorchuk says.
But this is only a small step towards protecting animals in Ukraine, Todorchuk says.
Activists hope to ban other cruel entertainment and businesses: There are currently eight animal protection bills waiting to be considered by the parliament. By holding the nationwide rally, the activists want to show the government that Ukrainian society stands against animal exploitation for entertainment in circuses, dolphinariums and petting zoos.
Todorchuk calls on everyone to join the demonstration, saying that change comes from the bottom up.
“You may love animals, and you may not. But you need to understand that abusing any living creature is wrong,” he says. “When it’s unpunished, it only grows.”
Nationwide Animal Rights March in Kyiv. Taras Shevchenko Park. Sept. 5. 12 p. m.
