Close eyes to animal misery

Have you ever thought about how to travel through countries where puppies are abandoned motherless everywhere?

I hear the wildest stories, such as animal rights activists rescuing individual animals and closing their eyes so they don't have to take them all with them. Others who don't even visit these countries - and there are many of them - in the first place.

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Traveling through countries full of animal suffering — How do you deal with it?

Have you ever wondered how to travel through countries where motherless puppies are abandoned everywhere? In regions such as the Southwest Balkans, but also in parts of Southeast Europe, Asia or Latin America, you regularly encounter animal suffering while traveling — stray dogs and cats, injured animals, puppies without mothers, crouching somewhere on the side of the road.

I hear the wildest stories: animal rights activists who desperately rescue a few individual animals and try to close their eyes to all the others because they know they can't help them all. Or people who consciously decide not to travel to these countries in the first place because they can't stand the misery — they don't want to see, they don't want to feel.

And what does that do to us? As a tourist, you are often helpless. You want to do good, help — but what can you really achieve in just a few days if you're just backpacking? And as an animal rights activist who knows such places, every new animal suffering breaks your heart again. You know you can't save everyone. And that is exactly what hurts. Incredibly painful.

But looking away is no solution. Sometimes it's enough to support local organizations, feed a dog, make a small donation or talk to local people. Every action, as small as it seems, can make a difference for an animal.

We must learn to live with this powerlessness — and still move on. Not because we can change the world alone, but because every life saved counts.

How do you keep it when traveling? Are you looking? Will you help if you can?

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What do you think of it as tourists? Like as an animal rights activist? - not everyone can be saved, it really hurts!