The organization Animals Kosova, in cooperation with the Dutch organization WWAR, has provided a donation worth 300,000 euros, which includes 48,000 kilograms of aid for stray dogs and cats.
More than one hundred volunteers who care for abandoned animals have received food and cages for sheltering them through this donation. They expressed their happiness for this initiative, emphasizing that such aid makes daily care for the animals easier.
The founder of Animals Kosova, Sadri Sopi, stated that the aid worth 300,000 euros was donated by the Dutch organization WWAR.
Sopi explained that volunteers from all municipalities benefit from this aid, with the only requirement being that they feed and care for stray animals.
“Today we brought about 48,000 kilograms of aid. Of that, around 44,000 kilograms is food, but there are also other items such as plastic and iron cages and other supplies for animal sheltering, for the volunteers who help the animals in need… This donation is very important because there are many volunteers, but they receive no help from anyone. For them, this is a huge help because at least they don’t have to buy food — we provide it. They use that cost for medical care or other needs. The donation is an initiative of AniKos, and it is donated by a Dutch organization called WWAR. The 48 tons we brought today came in two shipments and is valued at over 300,000 euros just this time. In total, including four previous shipments, we have provided over two million euros worth of aid. We have about 80 beneficiaries on our list, but most of them also help others. Approximately, we have over 100 volunteer beneficiaries from all municipalities, regardless of where they come from. What matters is that they help and feed the animals. They come from the north, Prizren, Gjakova, Peja, Dragash,” said Sopi.
One of the beneficiaries of this donation is Valbona Ferati from Gjilan, who cares for stray dogs and cats. She said this is the third time she has received this kind of aid. Ferati explained that she feeds at least 36 stray dogs every day, KosovaPress reports.
“This is the third time I’ve come to receive this donation. It helps us a lot and we are very satisfied. Thank you very much to this organization. We have been on the streets as strays. We have cats as well. I feed at least 36 dogs daily. This is something that can ease my work a little… I’m waiting to receive food and everything that is given is welcome,” said Ferati.
Also, Fjolla Podrimja from Gjakova, a volunteer who cares for stray animals by feeding and sheltering them, said that donations like these make their work easier. She added that this initiative should serve as a model for state institutions to act similarly and help stray animals.
“For us, this donation that we have received several times is very important. It makes our work as volunteers in the city of Gjakova easier. There are many stray dogs that sometimes are left without food. Thanks to AniKos, their lives are much better. Today, we received food for dogs and cats, as well as some cages and other items. This is a very good model to call on the Kosovo government to at least help us to make things easier for us,” said Podrimja.
Veterinarian and Dutch ambassador to Animals Kosova, Piet Hellemans, highlighted the importance of sterilizing stray dogs to reduce their population.
“The most important thing is to prevent dogs from having puppies. We need to stop the birth of dogs on the streets. We must care for the dogs we remove from the streets and stop their reproduction. Kosovo is a small and good country, and I believe we can organize this process. With the help of volunteers and local veterinarians who are engaged, this problem can be solved… I want dogs to have a good life, but the key thing is to prevent them from reproducing. If we do not stop reproduction, shelters will fill up quickly and then we will need to build new shelters and Kosovo will become a huge dog shelter. Therefore, we need to sterilize dogs so they no longer reproduce… I want Kosovo to have no stray dogs on the streets, and this is possible. I come from the Netherlands, where this problem has been solved. We are a small country and managed this issue since the 1970s, and I believe Kosovo can do the same,” said Hellemans.
Volunteers from several Kosovo municipalities received food and other supplies for the animals they care for, which are abandoned.