© Snorri Thor via Reuters Connect
In Iceland today, work began on the rescue of almost three hundred animals, mainly sheep but also seven cats and a rabbit, that have been stuck for days without food or water near Grindavik. Due to the new volcanic eruption near that village, farmers had to leave in a hurry and leave their animals behind.
The fishing village of Grindavik, in southwestern Iceland, was evacuated shortly before Christmas after a volcano erupted a few kilometers away. In the weeks that followed, the situation seemed to stabilize and some farmers returned to the village with their livestock. But a new eruption last Sunday, even closer to the village, once again forced the village’s residents to abandon everything, including their livestock.
As of Tuesday, rescue operations are underway to save the estimated 270 sheep left behind. Many of the animals are stuck in cages and have not been fed or watered for several days.
Initially, their rescue was not the highest priority, until animal rights activists noticed on TV images how expensive machines but no animals were rescued from the danger zone. The Icelandic animal rights organization Dýraverndarsamband Íslands did not accept this and sent a call for civil protection to save the animals. “Animals are conscious beings with feelings and a soul. It is therefore necessary that their care and rescue be given a higher priority than dead objects,” the organization said in a statement.
Neither permission nor prohibition
About thirty sheep could be saved on Monday after a farmer convinced rescuers to help evacuate his animals. “A number of sheep were already rescued by their owner on Monday evening, but he had to fight the authorities,” Anna Berg Samúelsdóttir of Dýraverndarsamband Íslands told The Guardian. “Some of the remaining animals are in the fields. That is extra problematic because the area is so dangerous.”
Icelandic authorities said it was against guidelines to bring livestock back to Grindavik after the December eruption, but the Icelandic Livestock Association suggests there was no permission or ban.