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Amid the chaos unfolding in the Middle East, an unlikely group of victims have emerged from the missile drone strikes hitting major cities in the UAE: pets.

Foreigners who had built their lives in these cities and are now being pushed to leave by the threat of the war escalating are reportedly leaving their pets behind because of the lengthy procedures involved in relocating animals.

While many at least try to hand their pets off to shelters with the hope that they’ll be taken care of, some are leaving cats and dogs out on the streets, forcing the domesticated animals to fend for themselves in a wild and hostile environment.

In a statement to The Telegraph, Aditi Gouri, owner of Dubai-based pet boarding service The Barking Lot, said, “Shelters are overcrowded right now and are doing the best they can — we are doing our best to stay as flexible as possible because we understand these are trying times.”

Vets in the country are also reporting a heavy increase in inquiries from owners looking for someone to keep their pets; the frequency of calls asking about euthanasia has also increased.

A volunteer from Dubai told the publication, “I’ve seen around 200 posts now, on WhatsApp groups and Facebook groups — dogs have been found abandoned on the streets, tied to poles and left behind with no owners found. Some vets have even confirmed that owners are coming in to euthanise healthy pets because they don’t want to deal with relocation costs or paperwork.”

Six Hounds, an animal shelter based in Al-Ain said they were receiving daily requests to take in animals, adding, “All of us are overloaded and underfunded and understaffed.”

Owner Anso Stander told The Standard she had received 27 messages concerning abandoned pets in one day. She also mentioned cases where pets had been abandoned in the desert on the border between the UAE and Oman after they were denied clearance to cross. She called the behaviour of fleeing pet owners “selfish and heartless”.

Louise Hastie, the CEO of War Paws — a charity working for animals in conflict zones like Iraq and Ukraine — said it was incomprehensible that pets in a place as affluent as Dubai were facing such high levels of abandonment.

“Abandoning pets at the border or on the streets, not even leaving them with the vet – there’s really no excuse for it, Dubai is an affluent country,” she said from Iraq, where she has been stranded due to the conflict. She said she’d stay with her animals “till the roof came down” if the alternative was to leave them on the street.

The problem of pet abandonment in the UAE is unfortunately not a new one, as a large chunk of the country’s population is comprised of expatriates who end up leaving the country at some point. Many of those departing leave their pets behind, which often results in the animals going through severe hardship and trauma.

The tense situation in the region is also showing no signs of easing as the US-Israeli war on Iran continues into its 10th day. After over 1,300 of its citizens were killed in US-Israeli attacks, Iran has vowed to continue the war, with the country’s Revolutionary Guards saying, “It is we who will determine the end of the war.”

Cover photo:Reuters/file