Dozens of wild animals, some from endangered species, were found in caged in poor conditions of a private zoo located in a back alley of Pokrovsk, a Donetsk Oblast city of 63,000 located 644 kilometers southeast of Kyiv.
Darya Korkh, an animal rights activist, described the scene to the Kyiv Post: “It was horrendous: wild animals locked in 1-meter by 1-meter cages, laying in their own feces – without food or water, very thin and barely responsive.”
The private zoo’s owner is 50-year-old Igor Padalko. The Kyiv Post could not reach him.
News organizations 11.ua and Vchasnoua.com report that Padalko was arrested on suspicion of child sexually abuse and was ordered held for 60 days by the Krasnoarmeysky District Court.
The activists reported more than 100 animals trapped in Padalko’s zoo: 11 brown bears, six lions, pelicans listed as endangered species, monkeys, wolves, foxes, racoon dogs, and more – most with barely enough place to stand, all malnourished, exhausted and exposed to freezing temperatures.
The horrific conditions attracted international attention.
Marleen Le Febvre, a member of the Wildlife At Risk International Coalition, wrote a letter on Dec. 24 to Ostap Semerak, the Ukrainian minister of ecology and natural resources, to urge him to take action.
Le Febvre, in a letter posted to her Facebook page, expressed her fear as “the cold weather is very dangerous for these animals, last year a lion froze to death before it could be rescued.”
The ministry published a press release stating that an inspection took place on Dec. 25, one day after Le Febvre’s letter, but 19 days after an official animal cruelty complaint was filed on Dec. 6. By the time official inspections took place, many animals were not there.
Korkh said officials did not find proof of animal abuse, “despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary,” she said.
Lionel De Lange, a South African activist and director of the Ukrainian branch of the Lawrence Anthony Earth Organization, said that six bears and five lions were confiscated, but a sixth one disappeared. One of the lions died after being evacuated.
The animals were transported to another city, but five bears remained at the Pokrovsk zoo.
The problem in Ukraine could be extensive.
“There are hundreds of such private zoos in the country,” De Lange said. He is working to transport the four remaining lions to a sanctuary in South Africa.
Koch and Oleksandr Todorchuk, director of UAnimals, urged authorities to investigate and find solutions quickly.
