Odesa animal shelter may receive 3.5 million to improve conditions

Members of the Odesa City Council, members of the Standing Committee on Planning, Budget and Finance, supported the allocation of UAH 3.5 million for the repair of premises for the temporary keeping of stray animals.

According to Oleksiy Potapsky, the chairman of the commission, the current state of the shelter is a cause for serious concern:

"The shelter is in a terrible state. These are not the conditions in which the animals taken under the city's care should be kept," said the deputy.

Instead, deputy Volodymyr Kornienko, who was present at the meeting of the commission, suggested that his colleagues allocate funds in installments. He agreed that the premises were in really bad condition.

"But perhaps they will restore one room now, and then, in September, if we have the funds, we will allocate more ," he suggested.

Korniyenko emphasized that in the conditions of war, the priority should be to spend on restoring damaged buildings and infrastructure.

However, a member of the commission, MP Oleh Zvyagin , called the conditions of the animals unacceptable and suggested that the funds be provided to the shelter.

"The conditions in which the animals are kept are horrible. We are just mocking them," he said.

Zvyagin also reminded that the company that runs the shelter has already received half of the planned funding, and the remaining funds will allow it to complete the repairs this year.

"Now it's just the next part, so that they can do everything this year and we can have a normal shelter, " he said.

The decision was supported by a majority of votes, and the commission recommended amending the budget to allocate the funds.

Earlier, the Executive Committee of the Izmail City Council approved adjustments to the 2025 program to regulate the number of stray animals in the city with a total budget of UAH 4 million. In 2025, 1,600 stray animals are to be sterilized, vaccinated and identified with the participation of public associations and NGOs.

Over the past decade, the Prosecutor General's Office has recorded 1599 criminal offenses related to animal cruelty in Ukraine. The court registry has already recorded cases where those accused of animal cruelty have received real prison sentences.

Олеся Ланцман