The HBO series Chernobyl has brought the 1986 nuclear disaster back into the public eye, but it has also highlighted the hundreds of stray dogs who live in the shadows of the Ukrainian power plant.
Since the show aired in the UK, the organisation Clean Future Fund has been in the spotlight, thanks to the invaluable work it carries out in the zone. Support for its Dogs of Chernobyl project has increased by two or three times, according to Lucas Hixson, president of the fund.
In 1986, tragedy struck when the reactor failed, spewing out nuclear waste and radiation. Those forced out of their homes had to leave behind their pets. And unfortunately these dogs and other animals were affected by the radiation.
Now, over three decades later, the stray dogs live in and around the power plant. Residents could not take anything with them for fear of contamination, and that included pets. Some dogs followed their owners onto evacuation buses, but soldiers pushed them away.
Dog owners also reportedly left notes begging the government to help the animals, but that didn’t stop a mass slaughter. Descendants of these dogs have since bred and multiplied.
Volunteers visit Chernobyl annually to spay, neuter and vaccinate the stray dogs.
Today our team came across the burial site of a beloved pet in #Chernobyl ??
Pets are buried following tradition, with their food plate set upon the grave and toys nearby ? pic.twitter.com/5wfAPwPAjx
— Clean Futures Fund (@CleanFutureFund) June 11, 2019
Here is the news report from 1986:
