Ukrainian Zoo Strapped for Food, Looks for Help

Animals at a Ukraine zoo that faced a food shortage due to a decline in funds are now stable thanks to donations and crowdfunding via Facebook.

Animals in Ukraine are also in crisis.

The director of Kharkiv Zoo in northeast Ukraine warned Friday that their animals could start dying as a result of a food shortage due to lack of funds triggered by the surrounding political unrest.

"Our animals are not fighting for power, they do not share anyone's political views, they just want to live," the zoo said in a statement on its website, according to the Agence France-Presse.

In the second-largest city in Ukraine, "our zoo is living through difficult and terrifying times," the statement said.   

A Facebook page, "Kharkiv Zoo Friends," created to raise awareness of the status of the animals has asked for food donations from the public. According to the page, as of Saturday, the food supply was reported to be stable thanks to public donations.

"We just got back from the zoo — literally the entire city had brought bags and bags of food to donate: cabbage, bread, carrots, beets, greens, you name it! The zoo staff was using tractors to haul the food around. We spoke to the zoo director and she said they'd also received some cash donations," the page posted.

The zoo is also working to accept electronic donations through PayPal.

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