Friday, March 29

Fleeing the war in Ukraine with 13 dogs and 7 cats


They had to leave their homes in a hurry, but they did not leave their pets behind. The ukrainian refugees who have landed in Majorca They have arrived accompanied by their pet animalswhom they did not dare to leave in their country devastated by the war.In total, thirteen dogs and seven cats have arrived with them, whom those responsible for Public health and the Ministry of Agriculture, the two competent bodies in these cases, have “softened” the procedures that all animals from non-EU countries must comply with if they want to enter a member country of the European Union.“Previous border restrictions have been lifted.ra urgently because of the war for animals coming from Ukraine so that are now being carried out in host countries”, explains Ramón García, head of zoonoses (diseases transmitted from animals to man) of the General Directorate of Public Health which reminds us that rabies is still endemic in the Eastern European country.

The expert details that thirteen dogs and seven cats have arrived in the Balearic Islands, two of them in Menorca, “although there may be some more”, he admits, revealing that all the pets are purebred. Thus, among the felines, the elegant and tabby Bengal cats predominate and even some Ukrainians arrived with a four-month-old specimen of the spectacular Maine Coon breed, a species native to the North American state of the same name that is characterized by its large size -it can reach nine kilos in weight – and their hunting skills. “When he arrived he was four months old and he already looked like an adult cat,” Garcia recalls.

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Among the dogs, more of the same, purebred and fundamentally small in size to make transportation less complicated. Yorkshire Terrier, Chihuahua, Shih Tzu, Beagle and French Bull Dog have been the most frequent furry refugees.mandatory isolation

“While the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for animal health, the issue of rabies is a matter of Public Health,” the technician of this general directorate defines jurisdictions, recalling that this viral zoonotic disease has been eradicated in this country since the 1950s / 60. “Spain was declared a rabies-free country in 1979 and only one case was declared in 2013 in Toledo without fatalities,” he details.

The pets have arrived by air, sea and land (in private vehicles), reveals García, explaining that from the tests to which these animals have been subjected to rule out the risk of them bringing rabies, “they must pass a minimum of three isolated months (The incubation period of the virus that causes it ranges between 4 and 8 weeks). If they are already with their owners in the definitive foster homes and they have a patio, we recommend that they do not go out. If they do not have it, we ask them to go outside for short periods, to avoid as much as possible having contact with other animals and people except those with whom they live and, in the event of any change in their health status, to contact us urgently. “, details the protocol an expert who minimizes the potential danger of these pets, pointing out that most of them were vaccinated (for rabies) and came from urban environments where this disease is less frequent.

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Francisco Rigo, head of the Livestock Service, reiterates that with these pets, for humanitarian reasons, the procedures have been streamlined. Some requirements that, in a normal situation, would have prevented its entry without its corresponding import certificate provided by Foreign Health after verifying that the animal is vaccinated, dewormed and without worrying traces of rabies antibodies.

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“They already had enough problems (Ukrainian refugees) and even the quarantines have been eased so they could be with their petsRigo concludes..

Vaccinated and dewormed

To avoid problems, the vaccination status of all pets has been checked. If they were not, they have been immunized; if they have been vaccinated for less than six months, they have been revaccinated; and if they had been vaccinated in the course of the last year, they have been tested to determine their level of antibodies against rabies and act accordingly. In addition, all have been dewormed to prevent the spread of the Echinococcus granulosusan intestinal parasite that can cause hydatid cysts in humans that require an operation to remove them.


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