Employees of public organizations and shelters, veterinarians and other animal activists could be nominated for the award. A total of 1,206 applications were submitted.
The All-Ukrainian humanist movement UAnimals and the inter-factional association “Humane Country” presented the second All-Ukrainian animal welfare award. This was reported by the organizers in a press release.
15 laureates were selected by the award's expert jury. In particular, the founder of the All-Ukrainian humanist movement UAnimals and military serviceman Oleksandr Todorchuk, co-chairman of “Humane Country” Yulia Ovchinnikova, founder of the NGO “Zoopatrol Ukraine” Dmytro Revniuk, head of the NGO “Kozhna Tvarina” Tamara Hyuman, president of the Association of Animal Protection Organizations Marina Surkova, etc.
The award is a way to make heroic people, without exaggeration, more recognizable, to attract attention and support to them and their work. Sometimes this is almost the only recognition of their titanic daily work. We dream that such recognition in society will become more and more: that the media will tell stories of saving animals, and volunteers will more often feel gratitude and support through donations and actions, – said the founder of the All-Ukrainian Humanist Movement Uanimals and military Olexandr Todorchuk.< /p>
The All-Ukrainian Animal Protection Award was awarded to:
- Viktoria Kruchyna, Kupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast: in 2016, she created the charity foundation “Ray of Mercy” to oppose dog hunting with subsequent euthanasia, and during the occupation of Kupyansk by the Russians, she fed, treated and sterilized homeless animals.
- < b>Olena Kotova, Oleksandria, Kirovohrad region: founder of the NGO “Zoopodomoga”, 10 years ago she launched the project of sterilization and vaccination of animals in the city; during a full-scale war, she accepts animals evacuated from hot spots in her center.
- Olesia Leonova, Dnipro: co-founder of the “Drug” rehabilitation center, takes care of more than 200 animals; since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, she has been accepting cats evacuated from the front in the shelter and continues to treat and adopt them.
- Ilona Jalagania, Sumy: co-founder and head of the shelter “Sumy society of animal protection”, takes care of 430 dogs; also with the team receives and adjusts animals evacuated from the war zone, in particular from Donetsk region, Kherson region, Sumy region.
- Mariya Vronska, Gostomel, Kyiv region: owner and manager of the oldest animal shelter; currently cares for 700 animals.
- Alisia Polykha, Kyiv: a member of the KARG animal rescue team, with the team evacuated animals from Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, flooded villages of the Kherson region.
- Victor Shelvinskyi, Kozhichi, Lviv region: veterinarian, founder of the Bird Rehabilitation Center “Free Wings” , which he arranged on his own; 300 birds of 63 species from all over the country got to him during the year.
- Marina Shazhko, Bakhmut, Donetsk region – Vilne, Dnipropetrovsk region: in 2012, she founded the Bakhmut Animal Protection Society “Lada”; evacuated animals; now there are a little more than 200 animals in the shelter.
- Roman Ostapchuk, Donetsk region: a military man who helps evacuate and settle animals and feeds them.
- Tetyana Kutsukon, Boryspil, Kyiv Region: the founder of the “Phoenix” animal rescue fund, currently under her care are about 100 animals (including evacuees), which she treats, cares for and places in families.
Scientist and founder of the Hamster Rescue Center Mykhailo Rusin, as well as the initiative group Free Svydovets, which fights for preservation of the ecosystems of the Svidovets mountain massif and the entire Carpathian region.
The ceremony also honored the memory of foreigners who voluntarily came to Ukraine during the full-scale war to save people and animals, and later died in eastern Ukraine from Russian shelling. In particular, they are the Spanish Emma Igual and the Canadian Anthony Ignet.