Reviewing Louisiana Animal Evacuation And Rescue
Release Date: November 1, 2005
Release Number: 1603-132
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hosted a gathering at the Joint Field Office Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005 to discuss the evacuation, sheltering, and rescue aspects of protecting Louisiana’s pets and livestock during and after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Many representatives of animal rescue and voluntary groups responded to the invitation, along with several state and parish officials directly involved with these activities. Federal, state, and parish officials provided informational briefings on the existing state- and parish-level plans for evacuating animals during hurricanes and discussed the importance of the human-animal bond. With 1.2 million dogs and nearly one million cats in the state of Louisiana, officials and rescue groups agreed local officials and residents should know who to contact locally for aid and instruction in a crisis. Other important topics included the need for improving communication and ensuring local animal-control officials are familiar with the parish and state incident command structure.
Dr. Martha Littlefield-Chabaud, assistant state veterinarian with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, gave answers to some frequently-asked questions, such as the disposal of deceased pets found in hurricane-ravaged areas, as well as how parish humane societies and shelters can communicate more efficiently with state officials. Attendees discussed a renewed focus of encouraging pet owners and livestock owners to incorporate better planning for their animals before, during and after a crisis.
In the days following Hurricane Katrina, approximately 8,000 animals were rescued and brought to the Lamar-Dixon Exposition Center in Gonzales, Louisiana or the Parker Coliseum at Louisiana State University. Although exact numbers are not available, smaller shelters run by independent, as well as voluntary groups, appear to have rescued and placed about the same number of animals.
Rescuers and officials lauded many parish organizers for their rescue and reuniting efforts after the hurricanes. For instance, after Hurricane Katrina, 94 of the first 200 rescued dogs in Plaquemines Parish were reunited with their owners after just 48-hours. Lessons learned from examples like this will help set the pace for future disaster preparations and response.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 01-Nov-2005 11:16:51