In disasters, ignoring pets costs human lives

Emergency services must recognize that evacuating household pets during a natural disaster can lead to saving people's lives, a New Zealand expert said on Monday.

Research from Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005, showed that 44 percent of people who did not evacuate stayed at least in part because they would not leave their pets, said Steve Glassey, associate director of the University of Canterbury's Centre for Risk Resilience and Renewal.

"In 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States of America. In its wake, it left $110 billion in damage and 1,836 people dead, making it the third-deadliest disaster in US history," Glassey said in a published speech to the Australia and New Zealand disaster management conference in Queensland.

"This disaster also highlighted the importance of companion animal emergency management with over 50,000 pets being left behind during the evacuation of New Orleans and 80 to 90 percent of these pets perishing."

In September 2010, a magnitude-7 earthquake struck New Zealand's second city of Christchurch, killing more than 3,000 animals, Glassey said.

"The human-animal connection is extremely powerful in an emergency management context, in creating opportunities to enhance public safety, but it is also a major risk if pets are not included in emergency management arrangements," he said.

"Though there may be a legal power to evacuate people without their pets, from an evidence-based approach to emergency management - let alone a moral obligation - pets need to be evacuated along with their other family members.

"We can learn the lessons the easy way or the hard way from Hurricane Katrina, but simply put, saving pets equals saving people. There is academic consensus that pet owners are more likely to refuse to evacuate if they are required to leave their pets, placing them and public safety personnel at risk.

"In a survey of New Zealand pet owners, 58 percent of respondents indicated they would likely return to rescue their pets if left behind, despite advice from public safety officials.

"By forcing pet owners to leave their pets in a disaster, pet owners are more likely to be psychologically impacted. So we are actually harming our communities by not evacuating pets and putting their safety, along with the safety of our front line personnel at risk," Glassey said.

(China Daily 05/20/2014 page10)