37° Grad - Geschöpfe wie wir. Von Menschen, die Tiere retten

According to the animal welfare organization Peta, around 80,000 animals were abandoned in Germany in 2022, and more than 350,000 ended up in animal shelters. There are several reasons for this. While thousands of dogs, cats and turtles were acquired in the coronavirus era, they are now exhausting ballast. The rise in veterinary fees, which almost doubled in 2022, is also a burden on pet owners. Inflation and rising feed and energy costs do the rest. This makes it all the more important that there are people in Germany who are committed to animal welfare and animal rescue.

For the ZDF format "37°", we accompanied three very committed people who are representative of the many animal rescuers and animal rights activists in Germany:

Biologist and bear and reptile expert Patrick (42) works at the Weidefeld Animal Welfare Center in Kappeln, a facility run by the German Animal Welfare Association. Here, he and his 22 colleagues care for almost five hundred animals every day, including bears, pot-bellied pigs, monkeys and snapping turtles. Many of them are pets that were no longer wanted by their former owners.

At the Lana sanctuary near Jena, Sabine (41) and her team from the association "Die Seelentröster - Tiere helfen Menschen e. V." look after more than one hundred mostly old and sick rabbits, chinchillas, guinea pigs and dogs.

Martina (50) from Hochheim am Main has dedicated herself entirely to cats. She is committed to helping street cats in Spain and looks after strays right on her own doorstep. This commitment to animal welfare obviously doesn't please everyone. One night, her makeshift cat shelters are set on fire by strangers. But like so many animal rescuers, Martina doesn't let setbacks stop her. Because for her, animals are creatures just like us.