Representatives of 8 communities online discussed the problem of homeless animals in Luhansk and Donetsk regions

All participants emphasized the relevance of this issue in communities. Representatives of Svatovskaya and Druzhkovskaya communities had the opportunity to share their «success stories» of interaction between society and the authorities to solve the problem of homeless animals.

So the participants from Svatovo noted that thanks to the leadership of the Svatovskaya Ah, they were able to hold two round tables, which were attended by representatives of the police, the state food and consumer service, the veterinary service and the media. As a result of the meeting, the participants found mutual understanding and adopted a program for keeping homeless animals. The main difference between this program and the previous one was the humane treatment of animals that «veterinarians Without Borders» will catch, sterilize, chip, vaccinate and release to their place of permanent residence.

Representatives of the public and the authorities from the city of Druzhkovka said that they are conducting educational work in schools. There is an agreement with the organization «Four Paws», which are specialized in teaching schoolchildren the rules of behavior with stray animals and encourage them to help and pay attention to four-legged animals. Such lessons of kindness are planned to be taught next year. One of the representatives of the animal protection public organization noted that the authorities are engaged in a dialogue with animal rights activists and they have the opportunity to discuss pressing issues and find compromises. Acute issues can be resolved calmly. Together, work is underway in the educational and Informational Program, this program is aimed not only at schoolchildren, but also at residents of the city. This NGO is currently participating in two projects in the public budget. The project activity is to explain to local residents the need for sterilization and vaccination of pets. There is a potential to develop such an initiative outside the city of Druzhkovka.

Representatives of communities where the issue of stray animals is currently acute noted that today there is no proper funding that could comprehensively solve this problem.

The meeting discussed lobbying for draft law 2351 which excludes the method of irrevocable trapping of stray animals and the revision by the authorities of programs to control the population of stray animals by more humane methods.

As a result of the dialogue meeting, the participants agreed to continue using the successful practices of communities that have close cooperation between activists and government representatives.

The zoom-conference dialogue meeting was held by gismaovc mediators within the framework of the UN program for the restoration and development of peace.

The United Nations program for the restoration and development of peace.it is implemented by four UN agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Framework for gender equality and women's empowerment (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The program is supported by twelve international partners: the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB), as well as the governments of Great Britain, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden and Japan.