Along with the numerous sanctions imposed on Russia by the global and European community, The Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe), an international cat organization, has joined in with a sanction of their own.
Russian cats are now banned from taking part in their cat shows internationally.
In a statement released on the FIFe website, their executive board said:
“The FIFe Executive Board is shocked and horrified that the army of the Russian Federation invaded the Republic of Ukraine and started a war. Many innocent people died, many more are wounded and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are forced to flee their homes to save their lives.
We can all witness the destruction and chaos caused by this unprecedented act of aggression.
On top of that our Ukrainian fellow feline fanciers are desperately trying to take care of their cats and other animals in these trying circumstances.
We are extremely happy that many members of FIFe clubs bordering Ukraine, such as Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova, are lending a helping hand to their Ukrainian breeder friends.
The Board of FIFe feels it cannot just witness these atrocities and do nothing, so it decided that as of 01.03.2022:
● No cat bred in Russia may be imported and registered in any FIFe pedigree book outside Russia, regardless of, which organization issued its pedigree.
● No cat belonging to exhibitors living in Russia may be entered at any FIFe show outside Russia, regardless of, which organization these exhibitors hold their membership in.
These restrictions are valid until 31.05.2022 and will be reviewed as and when necessary.
The Board of FIFe also decided that it will dedicate a part of its budget to support cat breeders and fanciers in Ukraine who are suffering because of the current situation. We will consult our Ukrainian FIFe Member Ukrainian Felinology Union (UFU), as well as our Members in countries neighbouring Ukraine, as to how this can best be done.
We hope for the sake of our Ukrainian friends that this terrible situation will not last a lot longer and we wish them a lot of courage and good fortune!