Charles Guyard, edited by Alexandre Dalifard / Photo credit: SULEYMAN ELCIN / ANADOLU AGENCY / ANADOLU AGENCY VIA AFP
While the Russian invasion in Ukraine began more than a year ago, Ukrainian civilians are living a ordeal as are animals, especially those in zoos, who find themselves threatened by the conflict. Like two tigresses who were welcomed into a refuge in Château-Gontier in Mayenne.
Ukrainian tigers repatriated to a zoo in Mayenne The war in Ukraine, obviously a scourge for millions of civilians but also for animals, especially those in zoos or other structures. Faced with this problem, some are also evacuated to other countries, such as two tigresses hosted in a refuge in Mayenne, in Château-Gontier.
“An exceptional rescue”
For the past two months, Armelle Lagarde has been inquiring every day about the state of health of Magnolia but also of Uvalisa, two tigresses who arrived on June 1 at L’Arche, a refuge for animals in danger. It is here that these animals will continue to grow in peace, far from the Ukrainian chaos in which they lived until then. “We were called by the European sanctuary which had an emergency of animals suffering from war, bombardments, hunger and abuse. We gave them the opportunity to regain confidence in humans and little by little, we did knowledge”, rejoices Armelle, one of the caretakers of the structure, at the microphone of Europe 1.
For this unique structure in Europe, having dealt with a country at war is a great first. “It’s true that this rescue was extraordinary. We had to obtain identification documents. And we can imagine that in the midst of a conflict, the priority is not to take blood samples from animals that are either on the loose or in zoos. It’s probably a drop of water in this ocean of injustice, but we are happy to say that they have come out of this country at war and we do not intend to s ‘stop anytime soon in this type of rescue,’ underlines Jean-Marie Mulon, director of l’Arche. And besides, the refuge is currently preparing a new file to welcome a lioness from a zoo in kyiv.