– If I had known how this was going to be, I would rather have arranged an apartment for mother and cat Frida in a different country than in Norway, Katia Dolzhenko said. news meets Katia, mother Oksana and the cat Frida at Katia’s home in Oslo. “Oksana – welcome to Norway!” it says on a poster that hangs on the wall. This sign met Oksana when she came to Norway. The sign has now been given a place of honor on the wall. Photo: Eirin Tjoflot / news Katia has been bidding in Norway for two years. In February, she visited her mother Oksana in Kyiv, where she grew up. She had just returned home to Oslo when Russia invaded Ukraine. Whenever the plane alarms went off, Oksana sought shelter in a bomb room with the cat Frida. One day Oksana packed her suitcase, mostly with cat food. She was to flee to Norway. Had to give up the cat Flukta went via Romania. There Katia met her mother. Katia had read up on the pages of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. She realized that the cat had to be quarantined as she had not received the rabies vaccine. At the same time, she perceived it so that the quarantine could be carried out at home if one had private housing as suitable for it. The cat Frida is lying elongated in a hotel room in Romania. Here Katia met her mother Oksana and the cat Frida before they went on to Norway. Photo: Private – When we came to Gardermoen we immediately understood that this was not going to be painless, says Katia. At the border check on March 17, they were met by a veterinarian who took Frida with him. Katia said that they did not know where Frida should be placed, but that they were told that they could visit the cat. – It was heartbreaking to leave the cat, says Katia who at the same time adds that she understands that there must be rules. Frida was found on a street in Kyiv. She was six months old when they found her. She is now 10 years old. She was six months old when they found her. She is now 10 years old. Frida is a Siberian cat. The name of the breed is Neva masquerade. On the same day, Katia establishes contact with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. news has been given access to the correspondence between Katia and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Katia and her mother are worried about the cat who has been on the run for many days and who is basically skeptical of a new environment and new people. Facts about the Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s scheme related to Ukrainian pets A number of exceptions have been made from the regulations and arrangements have been made for refugees from Ukraine to be able to bring their pets to Norway. Since rabies and other serious diseases occur in Ukraine, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority must ensure that this does not increase the risk of spreading infectious diseases to humans and animals in Norway. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority registers and controls all pets that come to Norway. If possible, a preliminary warning to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority must be brought with you, so that the inspection can be carried out as quickly as possible after crossing the border. If the pets are not checked at the border crossing, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority must be contacted. Requirements for dogs, cats and ferrets: There are requirements for ID marking of dogs, cats and ferrets. Animals that have not been vaccinated against rabies are placed in a quarantine station. The animals must also take a blood sample which shows that the rabies vaccine is working properly. Animals that have documentation of rabies vaccine must also take such a sample. It must take at least 30 days after the vaccination before such a blood sample can be taken. If dogs have not been treated by a veterinarian against fox dwarf tapeworms 1–5 days before entry into Norway, they must be treated as soon as possible after entry. Pets other than dogs, cats and ferrets must be examined clinically by a veterinarian in Norway. Refugees from Ukraine with pets will not be charged financially for treatment, sampling and any quarantine associated with the importation. Source: The Norwegian Food Safety Authority Rejected visit «Frida is fine. It is a nice cat “, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority answers in the first email. One picture is attached: This was the first picture Katia and Oksana received from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Photo: The Norwegian Food Safety Authority Frida is sitting in the travel cage she traveled through during the escape. In a new e-mail, Katia asks if they can visit Frida as they have been told. They get no answer. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority sends Katia several pictures of Frida. – I was not impressed. I was even afraid to show them to my mother. I could see that Frida was sad and that she was sitting on a dirty surface. Katia gets a bad stomach feeling and wonders about the conditions at the quarantine stations. Katia and Oksana were shaken when they received this picture from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Frida sits on a dirty surface in the travel cage at the quarantine station Moreppen. The picture is taken on March 31. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority sends several pictures of Frida at the quarantine station. Katia and Oksana are worried about the situation. Katia and Oksana are worried about the situation, and think Frida looks downcast. Ann Margareth Grøndahl is section manager and veterinarian in the Norwegian Food Safety Authority in Romerike. She is responsible for Frida during the quarantine stay. She is also among those in the Norwegian Food Safety Authority who have responded to Katia’s e-mails. Grondahl says that she fully understands that owners want to visit their animals. She explains that most of the quarantine stations are basically kennels that are suitable for visits. Moreppen, which is the quarantine station that Frida was at, is not. – Moreppen is a room that has not previously been used for anything. At Moreppen, an intermediate quarantine has been established for animals from Ukraine. The premises are not suitable for receiving visits. Therefore, with regard to infection control, we have had a desire to delimit owner visits there, says Grøndahl. Noah critical of rejection of visits The animal welfare organization Noah has received several inquiries from Ukrainian animal owners who are not allowed to visit their animals in quarantine. Noah criticizes the Norwegian Food Safety Authority for not allowing animal owners to meet their animals in quarantine. – It is the best for animals and owners. Here we have a system that will help refugees and their animals get as good as possible. I do not understand why they then refuse a visit, says Siri Martinsen in Noah. Katia and Oksana thought it was hard not to visit Frida at the quarantine station. Photo: Eirin Tjoflot / news – At some quarantine stations it is possible for animal owners to visit the animal, but not everyone diverges, says Ole-Herman Tronerud, director of the department for regulations and control at the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Tronerud says that in some places visits are not physically arranged and that in other places there is no capacity to handle such visits. – Their first priority is to take good care of the animals they have in quarantine, he adds. Took the cat to the vet on May 2, Frida got the green light from the quarantine station. On May 3, Katia and Oksana got the cat back. Frida had been at the quarantine station since March 17. – It was like I lifted an empty cage, Katia told about when they picked up Frida. On May 3, Oksana and Katia pick up the cat Frida. They thought she was not what she usually was. Oksana and Katia tell that Frida neither ate nor drank when she came from quarantine. On May 5, Katia and Oksana took Frida to the vet. She was diagnosed with anorexia, dehydration and impaired consciousness. Frida neither ate nor drank, says Katia who decided to take the cat to the vet. May 5th got day time. By the veterinary clinic, the cat was assessed with a BCS (body condition score) of four to five out of nine. At the same time, Frida was diagnosed with anorexia, dehydration and impaired consciousness. – We were afraid that the cat would die, says Katia. news has been in contact with the veterinary clinic that treated Frida. Dei does not wish to comment on the matter. Ann Margareth Grøndahl explained that the Norwegian Food Safety Authority considered Frida to be shy, cautious and restrained, but that they did not observe any signs of illness in Frida when she was with them. – It was also this message the owner received, says Grondahl to news. – The fact that we did not observe the disease on 3 May and that the veterinarian writes anorexia, dehydration and impaired consciousness on 5 May, I think is not necessarily contradictory information. In general, it is the case that illness can sometimes occur acutely, she adds. Grondahl also emphasizes that a BCS of four to five out of nine is described as the “Ideal Body Condition Score”. The owners, on the other hand, believe that it is impossible that Frida may have become ill in just a few days at home. They suspect that the cat has neither eaten nor drunk at the quarantine station. The cat Frida is now on the road to recovery and is at home with food mother Oksana and Katia Dozhenko in Oslo. Katia claims that Frida’s story is one of many. news has been in contact with several Ukrainians who are dissatisfied with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Katia says that several Ukrainians on social media advise against traveling to Norway with pets. Frida, Oksana and Katia are now brought together. All three are happy about that. Photo: Eirin Tjoflot / news Many people get in touch So far, more than 800 pets have come to Norway. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority does not have an overview of how many complaints they have received. Tronerud says that a few have given critical feedback after the quarantine. Some have been critical of the fact that the animals have to be quarantined at all and that others have wanted more frequent updates along the way. Siri Martinsen in Noah says that there are just under 10 people who have turned to them with full-fledged outreach. In addition, there are several who make contact via social media. The Animal Protection also says they have received inquiries from people who are worried about their animals at quarantine stations. They do not have an overview of how many inquiries they have received, but say that there are not that many. Frida is now on the road to recovery, together with mother Oksana and Katia in Oslo. Photo: Eirin Tjoflot / news Monica Bye has created the Facebook group «Help for ukrainian pet owners in Norway». Daily Ukrainian pet owners contact ho. She gets to hear both sunshine stories and less sunny stories. – But most people who contact me come with negative feedback. There are at least 60 people who have contacted me who have had bad experiences related to the quarantine situation, she says. In particular, she has received negative feedback about Moreppen. – The quarantine station is not sound operation and violates the law, Bye claims. Grondahl in the Norwegian Food Safety Authority says that Bye has made an important effort to help the refugees. Grondahl also says that the Norwegian Food Safety Authority will always try to find out what has happened. This also applies to the cases that have come up in the Facebook group. – We have recently been on an unannounced sight experience at Moreppen. The cats there were doing well, and we had no comments about the stables, care or care, she says. Do you have tips for this case? Then we would love to hear from you! E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
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Ukrainian pet owners criticize the quarantine stations of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
