Dogs and cats form the vast majority of pets brought into the UK by Ukrainians fleeing the war, according to an FOI to the Animal and Plant Health Agency – more than 2,000 of them.
However there were also more unusual pets that owners couldn’t bear to leave behind, including two rosy-faced lovebirds, eight chinchillas and a turtle. Others include 14 guinea pigs, 16 hamsters, 12 rabbits, and 10 rats.
However, the journey for a pet into the UK is not easy.
Anfisa Vlasova, 41, spent more than a month trying to bring in her four Yorkshire terriers.
She finally succeeded with the help of charities, eventually crossing on the EuroTunnel as part of a 30-hour trip in the back of a delivery van with her pets.
Ms Vlasova is originally from Donetsk in eastern Ukraine and has been moving repeatedly since the 2014 war there.
Her 19-year-old daughter is a refugee studying in the US and Anfisa was planning to become a dog breeder in Kharkiv when war broke out again.
‘It’s like my family members’
Ms Vlasova, who is in temporary accommodation unable to find a landlord that accepts her pets, said: “It’s like my family members that help me avoid loneliness and treat me from all this war trauma.
“Coming through war twice, being alone, it’s really a nightmare; it’s just because of those pets that I try to be strong and fight for survival.”
