More and more animal owners in Bavaria in need: boards impose admission stops - also because of the Ukraine war
Created: 07/11/2022, 21:52
By: Thomas Eldersch
More and more animal boards in Bavaria are fighting for survival.
The willingness to donate is declining, while the number of those in need continues to rise.
Munich – The war in Ukraine and its consequences not only affect people in Germany, but also their pets.
Because of the increased cost of living, more and more households in Bavaria are running out of money for their beloved four-legged friends.
There are also numerous refugees from Ukraine who have brought their animals with them.
A true endurance test for animal panels throughout the Free State.
Animal plaques are also being overrun by refugees from Ukraine
The example of the animal table in Würzburg shows the connection between the Ukraine war and the increased cost of living.
Many refugees come to the TierTafel Würzburg e.
V. The number of customers has almost doubled in recent months, says the chairman Marcus Geck the BR.
Before the war he counted about 70 to 80 people who regularly visited the table.
Now another 60 refugees from Ukraine would be added.
The association has therefore also commissioned a website in Ukrainian.
“Yesterday I bought feed for 1500 euros to replenish the stock.
It's empty again in no time, especially the special feed for the sick animals is in great demand," says Geck to the BR.
His regular customers include mostly older people.
Therefore, the animals are often older and sick.
More and more pet owners in Bavaria are dependent on animal boards.
They can often no longer afford the food for their four-legged friends.
© Stephanie Pilick/dpa/symbol picture
The refugee Diana from Kyiv has developed from a customer to a helper.
The 39-year-old only came to Germany with a backpack and her Labrador.
A little later, a well-known interpreter drew her attention to the animal board.
Now she has started there out of gratitude as a helper.
She tries to translate for her compatriots.
She revealed to BR that "the animal board was my salvation".
Because her dog is all she has left - her life.
Tiertafel in Munich imposed admission stop
In many other panels in Bavaria, the increased number of customers is pushing the facilities to their limits.
In Munich, TierTafel therefore imposed a freeze on admissions three weeks ago.
In addition to the approximately 250 “regular customers”, around 130 Ukrainian families would have been added, the association told BR.
Chairwoman Andrea de Mello, who also drove to the individual reception facilities with the animal table mobile, reports: "People came in buses with the animals under their arms, it was really terrible."
also read
First Bavarian city bans Ballermann hit "Layla" at folk festival
heat wave?
Meteorologist warns of another danger: "Germany is becoming a steppe"
(By the way: Our Bayern newsletter informs you about all the important stories from Bavaria. Register here.)
In order to be able to cope with the new rush, there are now waiting lists in Munich.
40 people are currently standing on it, according to de Mello.
Luckily, Munich has a large and reliable group of donors to fall back on, who "don't splash out," de Mello told BR.
Donations for the animal table in Regensburg decrease
But that is not the case everywhere.
In Regensburg, for example, the social feeding station has been overrun for two months.
"Now there's a layer in the shaft somewhere, we can't lift it anymore," complains Chairwoman Helga Graef-Henke to BR.
Most recently, 138 people came to get food for their 76 dogs and 137 cats - not counting small animals.
Around one and a half tons of feed went away in one morning.
However, the amount of donated feed has almost halved, according to Graef-Henke.
Originally they got around 400 kilograms of food, but now it's only around 200 kilograms.
Cat litter has also become more expensive and is probably no longer donated for this reason.
There is also no money left for the subsidies for veterinary visits.
"There is a lack everywhere, except for customers," says Graef-Henke.
Several million cats and dogs in Bavaria
According to the State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL), there are around 2.6 million cats in Bavaria.
In addition, there would be another 1.7 million dogs.
That's a lot of food needs.
The animal panels throughout the country feel this only too clearly.
Especially when it comes to subsidies for veterinary bills, it is becoming increasingly scarce.
In Würzburg, one speaks in this context to the BR of "being bled dry".
The demand for the assumption of veterinary costs has increased enormously.
The budget for this year has already been exhausted.
"We've already spent as much this year as we did last year," explains Geck.
Animal boards can no longer afford the special food for the four-legged friends
In Augsburg, therefore, one had to decide to take a tough step.
Katrin Hellinger from Tierfutternothilfe Augsburg told BR that although everyone wanted to help, they had to be fair.
Therefore, only customers who have been registered for a long time are subsidised.
There is simply no more money for new registrations, even if more and more people can no longer afford the veterinary costs themselves, says Hellinger.
There is also a shortage of subsidies for special feed for sick animals.
Pet food for diabetics or animals with kidney disease is often twice to four times as expensive as normal food.
At the same time, the willingness to donate money has decreased in recent months, explains Hellinger.
(phone)
All news and stories from Bavaria can now also be found on our brand new Facebook page Merkur Bayern.