Nomination "Responsible for those ...": Ekaterina Tsareva has been engaged for four years in rescuing foxes from fur farms or taking them from those who have "had enough" of breeders and owners of wild animals.
KP-Samara journalists told about our heroine.
Ekaterina currently has 9 foxes, two raccoons, one raccoon dog and even two roe deer.
"It all started with dogs about 12 years ago. I was just helping the cats and dogs. And then I accidentally saw an ad: volunteers are buying fur-bearing animals from animal farms. And unbeknownst to myself, I also got involved in this case," says Ekaterina Tsareva.
Ekaterina now has five children: a 25-year-old daughter and four adopted teenage sons.
"The children appeared five years ago. We have a big house, our daughter got married and it became clear that we could afford more children. So we took the foster boys. As a foster parent, it is my responsibility to provide children with a comfortable life. To teach everything that I can do myself, and even what I don't know yet. And, of course, I do all this for them too, so that they learn kindness and love for animals," Ekaterina continues her story.
The family built all the aviaries with their own hands. Some of them are used for overexposure - animals get there immediately after being bought from farms. There are also so-called refuseniks - animals that were first introduced "for themselves" and then abandoned. Not everyone is ready for the fact that the beast is not a toy."
A fox is something between a cat and a dog. It has the same changeable personality. It can be affectionate, and then suddenly starts biting. Or vice versa. You won't guess at all. A girl recently wrote: "I bought a fox cub from the breeders. It bites. I can't handle him. Will you take it away?" I replied: "If you bring it, I'll take it back." If a person has already realized that he cannot cope, it is better to give it right away, while the fox cub is small and someone else can build contact with him," the volunteer is convinced.
Foxes and raccoons should not be kept in apartments, they should not be left unattended, otherwise they will gnaw and destroy everything. Therefore, an aviary in the backyard of a private house is a necessity for those who want to get an unusual animal. It is for this reason that Ekaterina strictly monitors where she gives the animal.
"I don't give foxes to apartments. Only in private houses with normal conditions or, for example, in stables, where mini-farms are now often made. It's important to me that the animal gets into safe hands," says our heroine.
The Tsarevs' makeshift farm is, by and large, an overexposure. They don't try to keep all the animals here, but on the contrary, they take them in for a while, treat them, take care of them and put them in good hands. The sons help to manage the household.
During her unusual volunteering, Ekaterina Tsareva has saved hundreds of animals. To cope with this volume, she had to learn a lot, read a lot, consult with veterinarians and dog handlers. Now they are already turning to her for advice - how to feed, how to tame, what to do if a fox bites. Animals come to her in different conditions, sometimes in very serious ones.
"The year before last, we bought foxes from Novosibirsk. It was a nightmare. The foxes are in terrible shape. One baby had eyes stuck from infection, the other did not survive the journey at all. Because the conditions on the farms are terrible - cramped cells, drained from all sides, unsanitary conditions. We are currently caring for a black and brown fox named Lisa with a neoplasm in her right ear and advanced otitis media, so the animal needs an urgent operation," Ekaterina shared.
These animals are no longer destined to return to the wild: they do not know how to hunt and simply do not know how to survive outside of human care.
Photos from the personal archive of Ekaterina Tsareva and KP - Samara.