5 Mar 2026
World Spay Day coincided with the four-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Vets across Ukraine have united to pull off a record-breaking spay and vaccination effort.
Organised by UK-based non-profit Worldwide Vets, along with other charities including Wildlife and Welfare, Animal Rescue Kharkiv and Tiernothilfe, veterinary teams including Ukrainian and British volunteers conducted 488 surgeries across six locations in a single day.
On 24 February – World Spay Day, coinciding with the four-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine – volunteers in Uman, Kharkiv, Sloviansk, Lviv Oblast, Krasyatychi and Mykolaiv took part in the effort from dawn to dusk.
Vet Ann Polianskaya operated on 140 animals with Wildlife and Welfare in Mykolaiv as part of the attempt, said to be the biggest united spay and vaccination day in Ukraine on record.
As well as performing the spay surgeries, the vets also vaccinated all the animals for rabies and helped treat them for parasite, dental, intestinal and wound-related problems.
Rabies cases have been on the rise in Ukraine since the war began, prompting vets in the country to launch an international donation appeal for aid.
The efforts came courtesy of Worldwide Vets’ “Donate a Day” fund-raising campaign, in which people donate a day’s salary to help Ukraine.
The charity, which said it has completed 4,500 sterilisations and 41,000 treatments in Ukraine since the start of the war, had set a target of 500 animals and officials are hoping to eclipse this year’s total to reach the goal next year.
Worldwide Vets chief executive Gemma Campling said: “I am very proud of all the people involved in this historic day.
“Most of the teams worked with no power or heating (a daily problem due to the relentless bombing of infrastructure), in sub-zero temperatures, with heavy snow. The Eastern teams were right up on the frontline, where bombing occurs throughout the day.
“This adds a whole new level of challenge for organising an event like this and, as always, our Ukrainian colleagues and international volunteers amaze me with their resilience and determination.”
Credit: Worldwide Vets
