Pet Disaster Preparedness
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE PETS
IN DISASTER PLANNING?
Pet Owners that won't leave
Most pet owners (especially the elderly) have stated in past
disasters that they feel if it is OK for them to leave a bowl
of food and water for a pet that is left behind, the disaster
must not be serious enough for them to leave. SO they refuse
to leave and stay with their pet.
How long will you be gone?
No one can truly be sure how long a disaster situation will
last. When pet owners are not allowed to return to retrieve
their pets, or they find that their pets will be left for a
longer than expected time, Anger and lack of cooperation can
lead to human loss and injury as well as pet injury, loss, and
needless death. Community cooperation is the key to successful
evacuation and limiting fatalities.
Public Health Risks
Animals like dogs and cats have an incredible ability to survive.
Because of this, if left to their own accord or not rescued,
after a disaster; they will live and in some cases thrive. This
will create a higher risk for the spread of disease, greater
amounts of animal waste and competition for food may lead them
to hunt each other as well as wildlife and livestock.
State Law
NH State Law, as well as other cruelty statutes, provide that
abandoning an animal to suffer injury or malnutrition, or confining
an animal without sufficient wholesome food and water is a violation
of criminal law. It seems inconsistent that government considers
one a criminal for dumping a dog or cat at the end of the street,
but then encourages animals being left behind when flood, wildfire,
hurricane, chemical release or other disaster threatens, the
latter meaning almost certain injury, death or malnutrition.
Recent disasters and the threat of terrorist attacks have made
the significance of animal issues obvious. Animals have largely
impacted both response and recovery efforts and in many cases
have necessitated additional relief efforts. Animals left behind,
even in the worst disasters, have a phenomenal ability to survive.
Therefore, a rescue effort, follow-up care and sheltering until
reunification with their owners, is a must to prevent the spread
of disease, overpopulation and the potential for adding thousands
of dollars to any clean up effort.
|
