WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE UKRAINE - ANIMALS - Two lion cubs with BROKEN LEGS rescued in Ukraine!

 

View this email in your browser

Two injured lion cubs found wandering in a Ukraine war zone urgently need your help. Please help by making a donation now! Share Tweet Forward Share Dear friends, The terrible war in Ukraine is claiming animal lives by the thousands. Among the most tragic victims are lions and tigers abandoned as zoos collapse and private owners flee. Credit: ASI/Dejan Radic We have just rescued two tiny lion cubs from Ukraine’s deadly frontlines. Their legs are BROKEN. Please, help us care for them right away. Please help by making a donation now! Our team was in Ukraine last week when two tiny lion cubs were found wandering around the frontline with serious injuries to their back legs. We don’t know how they ended up there or how they were injured, but we do know that, frightened and alone, they only had each other until our partner, Wild Animal Rescue Center (WARC), came to their rescue. WARC founder Natalia Popova saved them from the violence and they are now at WARC, which provides medical treatment and temporary shelter for animals rescued from Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. Credit: ASI/Justine Haralambous Captive big cats are abandoned in their cages and left to die as their owners flee. All the big cats rescued by WARC were kept in captivity prior to the war, either in zoos or by private owners, and then abandoned during the explosions. We cannot begin to imagine their fear – and we do not want to think about how many have already perished, trapped in their cages as missiles rained down. We have promised to help the animals with whatever they need to survive. X-rays show that the leg bones of both cubs are cracked, but given time and proper nutrition, they can heal. Both cubs have severe cracks in the bones of their legs. Please help us cover the cost of their care until we can find them a permanent sanctuary to call home.  With your support, we will help these infants get the treatment they need until they find a safe, permanent sanctuary. Credit: ASI/Dejan Radic The mental image of lion cubs wandering around the rubble of ruined cities, while Russian missiles rain down and automatic weapons spit death, is horrendous. Sadly, tragic situations like this are all too common in this awful war. These injured lion cubs are not the only big cats that need our help. An enormous tiger weighing at least half a ton was found on the frontline after escaping from a private estate in eastern Ukraine. WARC was called in and the animal, now named Tigarula, was rescued and taken into its care. Tigers need a lot of space to thrive, but sadly, due to a lack of funding, Tigarula is being kept in a cage that is barely large enough to accommodate his bulk. Tigers are among the most dangerous animals in the world, extraordinarily strong and natural born killers – but Tigarula is like a giant pussycat, rubbing up against the bars of his cage and seeking affection. Credit: ASI/Dejan Radic When we saw this majestic beast in a tiny cage, our hearts broke. We know that if you could see this exquisitely beautiful tiger locked up and lonely, you would want to help him.  Can he count on you today? Please help by making a donation now! We have been asked to provide finance for a large tiger-proof space for Tigarula, until he can be relocated to a sanctuary. For his mental and physical health, this is truly urgent. The war has gone on for so long, people are forgetting its horror and have stopped helping. ASI depends on donations from kind-hearted people who have a flash of compassion for creatures like Tigarula, and any donation you are able to give will help get him out of a cage, out of the war, and to safety. Even a small donation will help provide him with better living conditions until he can be relocated to a permanent sanctuary. Our hearts are so often broken by what we see in our work, but the animals need us – and if we don’t help, who will?  Your donation today will make a crucial difference for Tigarula and the other 32 wild animals at WARC. Incredibly, it is legal for people to keep lions and tigers as ‘pets’ in Ukraine; but of course, when the missiles start to fall, people flee and the animals are abandoned. Zoos are just as bad. They portray themselves as saviors of animals, but when trouble arrives, many zookeepers disappear, leaving the animals to fend for themselves.  Big cats have no place in zoos, let alone private homes, and to its credit, Ukraine is working to ban this in future. But that law will come far too late for the terrified wild animals who have suddenly found themselves at the mercy of Russian bombs, missiles and soldiers.  Credit: ASI/Dejan Radic One private estate that kept wild animals in Donetsk was captured by Russians. After it was recaptured by Ukrainian troops, they found that the occupiers had eaten some of the wild animals. There are 12 lions and three tigers at WARC. We have experience working with lions and some we met are clearly suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alternately cowering as far from humans as possible or launching angry, snarling attacks. We cannot blame them – they have only known humans to be the source of their terror and pain.  A white tiger, abandoned in the war and temporarily at WARC, cowered at the back of a cage, fear written all over his face, snarling defiance. He is powerless to change his situation, but we exist to help animals like him, and will do everything in our power to do so. Credit: ASI/Justine Haralambous Any donation you make as a compassionate animal-lover will help a frightened white tiger, two broken lion cubs, a half-ton caged tiger, and 29 other wild animals caught in the war, far from their homes and with no-one else to turn to. Please help by making a donation now! Our team members are not soldiers. We are ordinary people who love animals. We were there when the missiles fell, and we were afraid for our lives. Can you imagine the terror animals feel when the buildings around them explode?  We will not abandon animals caught in this war, and we hope you won’t either.  Please donate generously to Animal Survival International and be a shining light of hope for these tragic souls today. Saving animals and the planet, General Manager Animal Survival International P.S. We have been helping animals on the frontlines in Ukraine since the war began. Two years on, we are still there, helping animals every day. Please donate right now so we can continue our vital work for wild animals. Please help by making a donation now!

Subscribe to our newsletter! Banner credit: NFA/Dejan Radic Please share this appeal with your colleagues, friends and family. Share Tweet Forward Share