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Stray dogs seek a handout of food outside the workers cafeteria at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Picture: Getty Images
MORE than 120,000 people from hundreds of towns and villages were forced to abruptly flee their homes in the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.
The exclusion zone stretched more than 30 kilometres from the power plant, where an explosion in reactor four on April 26 sparked one of the worst catastrophes in modern human history.
Terrified residents left behind almost everything, including beloved family pets.
Now, in the radioactive ghost towns within the no-go area in Ukraine’s north, especially Pripyat, some 900 stray dogs roam among crumbling buildings, the descendants of those abandoned canine family members.
They were suffering from neglect and disease, with no safe or warm shelter and growing issues due to overpopulation.
Stray puppies play in an abandoned, partially completed cooling tower inside the exclusion zone at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
A stray dog stands at a monument outside the new, giant enclosure that covers devastated reactor number four at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
A stray walks along abandoned train tracks near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
There were also concerns about the risk of rabies posed to workers at the destroyed plant who are part of continuing recovery efforts.
That is until animal welfare organisation Four Paws collaborated with the American organisation Clean Futures Fund (CFF) to visit the Chernobyl region to vaccinate and spay and neuter the dogs.
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In this aerial view abandoned, partially completed cooling towers stand at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant as the new, giant enclosure that covers devastated reactor number four stands behind. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
Participants of the Dogs of Chernobyl initiative capture the canines, study their radiation exposure and vaccinate them against diseases, before tagging and releasing them.
Some are also being outfitted with special collars equipped with radiation sensors and GPS receivers in order to map radiation levels across the zone.
Experts say it’s unclear how the potent radiation impacts animals in the exclusion zone, but wildlife populations have prospered in the three decades since the disaster.
Scientists are divided on the true health of animals, with some studies examining abnormally high rates of cataract blindness in wolves and conditions like albinism in birds.
“(Scientists) agree that radiation is bad for people and bad for animals ... the debate is over how bad and whether it has caused populations to decline,†National Geographic wrote.
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Workers on a break watch a stray dog saunter by outside an administrative building inside the exclusion zone at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
Stray dogs hang out near an abandoned, partially completed cooling tower at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
A stray dog stands near the new, giant enclosure, which covers devastated reactor number four at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
Stray puppies play in an abandoned, partially completed cooling tower inside the exclusion zone. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
Julie Sanders of Four Paws told the Vet Times that their focus was on disease prevention rather than the adverse affect of radiation.
“Rabies is not only a risk for animals, but also for humans. By vaccinating the stray dogs, we are also protecting the 3500 nuclear power plant workers who come into contact with the dogs and look after them,†Sanders said.
“By neutering the strays we will also achieve a long-term reduction in their population, improving the welfare of the dogs. This is important because their chances of survival are greatly reduced if their numbers increase, due to lack of food and shelter in the extremely cold winters.â€
Anna Sovtus, a Ukrainian veterinarian working with The Dogs of Chernobyl initiative, reaches for stray puppies in an enclosure at a makeshift veterinary clinic inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
Anna Sovtus, a Ukrainian veterinarian, tends to a stray puppy she had just washed in the bathroom sink at a makeshift veterinary clinic inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
Pavel "Pasho" Burkatsky, a professional dog catcher from Kiev, releases stray puppies that have been neutered and vaccinated inside the exclusion zone next to workers' dormitories near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
A team of vets ventured into the zone to provide medical treatment and a bit of love.
As One Green Planet explained, there are an estimated 120 dogs in need living within and around the nuclear power plant.
“As you can imagine, this is a huge undertaking.â€
Terry Paik, a veterinarian from San Diego, California, volunteering with The Dogs of Chernobyl initiative. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
Jake Hecla, a graduate student in nuclear engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, uses a spectroscopy device to measure gamma rays emitted from isotopes, including americium, which is derived from plutonium, and caesium lodged inside the body of an anaesthetised stray dog recovering from surgery. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
A "frisker" Geiger counter used to measure radiation shows a reading of 1240 counts, approximately 20 times higher than normal, on the paws of an anaesthetised stray female dog. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
As CFF explained, extensive research was conducted prior to the project to ensure workers would be safe from the radioactive environment.
Stray dogs loiter inside the high-security "local zone" outside the new, giant enclosure that covers devastated reactor number four. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
A tagged, stray dog sniffs for food in a trash can outside the workers cafeteria inside the exclusion zone. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
Administration worker Lyudmila Ivanovna greets stray puppies inside the exclusion zone. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images