RESOURCE DIRECTORY: BACKGROUND
All levels of government have recognized the need for Emergency Management agencies to address issues relating to animals in disaster. Recent major disasters, when people would not evacuate their homes because they could not take their pets with them, brought this issue to the forefront.
The New Hampshire Response
In New Hampshire, the State Emergency Operations Plan (SEOP) has an Emergency Support Function (ESF), Animal Health, with the Department of Agriculture as the lead agency. Within the Department, the State Veterinarian has incorporated emergency planning for animals in disaster into the ESF, Animal Health. In addition, the New Hampshire House of Representatives charged a legislative commission in 2006 “to study the evacuation and housing of animals during an emergency.” The Animals in Disaster Resource Directory is one of the outcomes of the Commission and is intended to assist towns, cities, and the state with emergency preparedness planning and management for animals in disaster.
The Federal Authority
In October 2006, the federal Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS Act) was signed into law as an amendment to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
The PETS Act mandates that local and state emergency management officials “take into account the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals prior to, during, and following a major disaster or emergency” when developing emergency preparedness operational plans. It also allows FEMA to make financial contributions to programs or projects “for animal emergency preparedness purposes, including the procurement, construction, leasing, or renovating of emergency shelter facilities and materials that will accommodate people with pets and service animals.”
Emergency Planning and Response
“All emergencies are local” is the basis of emergency planning. But local emergency services, such as police and fire, will initially be involved with their primary missions of saving human lives and property. They may not immediately be able to address the rescue and evacuation of pets and companion animals.
Disaster Animal Response Teams (DARTs) have proved to be a most effective and organized resource and means of evacuating animals and ensuring their delivery to a place of safety, such as a shelter. The process of planning and implementing evacuation, rescue, sheltering, and reunification for animals in disaster follows most of the same tenets as for people, and Local Emergency Operations Plans (LEOPs) are encouraged to integrate DARTs as the operational arm of the Animals in Disaster portion of the Plan.
Disaster Teams
Disaster teams, such as HazMat, have become an integral part of emergency planning and response. They are specialized, and their members are trained, certified and/or licensed to perform within their specialty area. Many teams are regional in concept, operating with Memorandums of Understanding between the respective jurisdictions. Regionalization also helps to address staffing needs and the needs of more than one jurisdiction, although a team can also be specific to a particular jurisdiction. In any case, disaster teams become the resource for responding to a specific need during an emergency.
Disaster Animal Response Teams (DARTs) are no exception. A DART is usually made up of volunteers who have received specialized training and, in some cases, certification. Although some DARTs have been formed solely by a group of dedicated volunteers, others have aligned with national, state, or local organizations, such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and the New Hampshire SPCA (NHSPCA). Such organizations have existing emergency preparedness and management plans in place, and they often offer training to first responders. Affiliation with such organizations can help DARTs achieve consistency in development, training, and planning and can be helpful in obtaining resources such as shelters, cages, supplies, and equipment.
In following the Incident Command System (ICS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS), DARTs should, at minimum, address operations, internal and external communications, logistics, donations management, and volunteer management in their planning. They should establish partnerships and coordinate with other organizations which provide services during and following an emergency. And a strong partnership with veterinarians or their professional organization, the NH Veterinary Medical Association (NHVMA), is also suggested.
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