Rescue Drones Ukraine USAGM
Metadata
- Rescue Drones Ukraine USAGM
- July 18, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM Share ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Rescue Drones Ukraine – Moskalkov HEADLINE: Rescue Drones: Florida Man Saves Animals From Bombed Buildings in Ukraine TEASER: PUBLISHED AT: 07/18/2022 at 8:45am BYLINE: Maxim Moskalkov CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Washington SCRIPT EDITORS: KE; Holly Franko VIDEOGRAPHER: VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA news, Courtesies TBD PLATFORMS: TV only TRT: 2:54 VID APPROVED BY: KE TYPE: TVPKG UPDATE: EDITORS NOTE: ((INTRO: )) [[A Florida man has been incorporating drones into his environmental work for some time. But recently he found a way to use them to save animals in war-torn Ukraine. Maxim Moskalkov has the story.]] ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Doug to the Rescue)) Douglas Thron is no ordinary drone operator. An environmentalist and animal rights activist, he uses his skill to help animals in disaster zones. Using drones equipped with thermal cameras, Thron looks for animals stuck in trees or trapped in debris. ((End courtesy)) ((Douglas Thron, Animal Rescuer)) ((Zoom)) [[in English]] “…it was so hard to find them because the debris piles were so big. So, I decided to put an infrared camera on, so that you could see the animals’ body heat. I tried it out, and it worked so well that I ended up doing this all over the world.” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Doug to the Rescue)) Thron equipped his drones with a special projector ((End courtesy)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) and a zoom camera. With it, he’s saved dogs after a ((End courtesy)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Doug to the Rescue)) hurricane in the Bahamas, Koalas from Australian wildfires, and animals in numerous other places from California to the Dominican Republic. But Thron says the war in Ukraine hit him hardest. ((End courtesy)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) He spent weeks there – and after a short break back home will be heading back. ((End courtesy)) ((Douglas Thron, Animal Rescuer)) ((Zoom)) “Normally, I do fires, tornadoes and hurricanes, and Ukraine has been very different because this was man-made tragedy, it’s something that was avoidable.” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) Thron works in the hardest hit areas of the Kyiv region. So far, he has saved dozens of cats and dogs. If he can’t find ((End courtesy)) the pet’s owner, he sends the animal to a temporary shelter. ((Douglas Thron, Animal Rescuer)) ((Zoom)) “Right now, we’re trying to find the owners, and of course a lot of them are unfortunately not around anymore, either they had to flee or… Sadly, we’ve had relatives reach out to us and say, ‘Yes, I recognize this animal, can you find it a good home? My relative passed away from the bombing…” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) Thron took a few cats from Ukraine to Florida with him. ((End courtesy)) ((Douglas Thron, Animal Rescuer)) ((Zoom)) “…we were able to find a mother cat and her kittens eight stories up in a bombed-up building, and unfortunately ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) pretty much everyone died, except the mother cat who happened to be nursing its kittens under some kitchen refrigerator… ((End courtesy)) We found her and rescued her and the kittens…” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) His friend Ryan Okrant is helping Thron rescue the animals. The men cover all the expenses themselves, but lately have started receiving private donations. Thron started a GoFundMe page to help raise more funds and save more animals. ((End courtesy)) ((Douglas Thron, Animal Rescuer)) ((Zoom)) “When we’re protecting and saving someone’s pet, a lot of the time that’s all they have left.” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) Thron’s story caught the eye of Hollywood, and his work has been documented ((End courtesy)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Doug to the Rescue)) in a show called “Doug to the Rescue” on the CuriosityStream Channel. ((Maxim Moskalkov for VOA News, Washington)) ((End courtesy))
- Transcript/Script USAGM Share ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Rescue Drones Ukraine – Moskalkov HEADLINE: Rescue Drones: Florida Man Saves Animals From Bombed Buildings in Ukraine TEASER: PUBLISHED AT: 07/18/2022 at 8:45am BYLINE: Maxim Moskalkov CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Washington SCRIPT EDITORS: KE; Holly Franko VIDEOGRAPHER: VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA news, Courtesies TBD PLATFORMS: TV only TRT: 2:54 VID APPROVED BY: KE TYPE: TVPKG UPDATE: EDITORS NOTE: ((INTRO: )) [[A Florida man has been incorporating drones into his environmental work for some time. But recently he found a way to use them to save animals in war-torn Ukraine. Maxim Moskalkov has the story.]] ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Doug to the Rescue)) Douglas Thron is no ordinary drone operator. An environmentalist and animal rights activist, he uses his skill to help animals in disaster zones. Using drones equipped with thermal cameras, Thron looks for animals stuck in trees or trapped in debris. ((End courtesy)) ((Douglas Thron, Animal Rescuer)) ((Zoom)) [[in English]] “…it was so hard to find them because the debris piles were so big. So, I decided to put an infrared camera on, so that you could see the animals’ body heat. I tried it out, and it worked so well that I ended up doing this all over the world.” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Doug to the Rescue)) Thron equipped his drones with a special projector ((End courtesy)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) and a zoom camera. With it, he’s saved dogs after a ((End courtesy)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Doug to the Rescue)) hurricane in the Bahamas, Koalas from Australian wildfires, and animals in numerous other places from California to the Dominican Republic. But Thron says the war in Ukraine hit him hardest. ((End courtesy)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) He spent weeks there – and after a short break back home will be heading back. ((End courtesy)) ((Douglas Thron, Animal Rescuer)) ((Zoom)) “Normally, I do fires, tornadoes and hurricanes, and Ukraine has been very different because this was man-made tragedy, it’s something that was avoidable.” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) Thron works in the hardest hit areas of the Kyiv region. So far, he has saved dozens of cats and dogs. If he can’t find ((End courtesy)) the pet’s owner, he sends the animal to a temporary shelter. ((Douglas Thron, Animal Rescuer)) ((Zoom)) “Right now, we’re trying to find the owners, and of course a lot of them are unfortunately not around anymore, either they had to flee or… Sadly, we’ve had relatives reach out to us and say, ‘Yes, I recognize this animal, can you find it a good home? My relative passed away from the bombing…” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) Thron took a few cats from Ukraine to Florida with him. ((End courtesy)) ((Douglas Thron, Animal Rescuer)) ((Zoom)) “…we were able to find a mother cat and her kittens eight stories up in a bombed-up building, and unfortunately ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) pretty much everyone died, except the mother cat who happened to be nursing its kittens under some kitchen refrigerator… ((End courtesy)) We found her and rescued her and the kittens…” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) His friend Ryan Okrant is helping Thron rescue the animals. The men cover all the expenses themselves, but lately have started receiving private donations. Thron started a GoFundMe page to help raise more funds and save more animals. ((End courtesy)) ((Douglas Thron, Animal Rescuer)) ((Zoom)) “When we’re protecting and saving someone’s pet, a lot of the time that’s all they have left.” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Douglas Thron)) Thron’s story caught the eye of Hollywood, and his work has been documented ((End courtesy)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Doug to the Rescue)) in a show called “Doug to the Rescue” on the CuriosityStream Channel. ((Maxim Moskalkov for VOA News, Washington)) ((End courtesy))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date July 18, 2022 08:53 EDT
- Byline Maxim Moskalkov
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America