United Animal Nations warns that animals left behind can be injured, fall ill, starve, die, and hamper human evacuation and rescue efforts
SACRAMENTO, CA (March 25, 2008) – As flooding rivers threaten communities across Arkansas, United Animal Nations (UAN) is encouraging residents to take their pets with them when they evacuate. Animals left behind during floods can get injured, fall ill, starve, die, and hamper human evacuation and rescue efforts.
Families that evacuate are encouraged to:
- Assemble an animal disaster kit that includes food, water, medications, a leash or cat carrier, and photos of animals with family members to prove ownership if they are lost. Visit www.uan.org for more disaster preparedness tips.
- Identify all animals with a tag so they can be more easily reunited if separated.
- Seek refuge in a hotel that allows pets. Most hotels and motels are pet-friendly, and those that aren’t often make exceptions during disasters. A searchable database of pet-friendly accommodations is available at www.petswelcome.com or www.petfriendlyhotelsandtravel.com.
- Leave animals with friends or relatives or board them at a professional kennel safely out of the flood’s reach.
“Animals left to fend for themselves during floods suffer terribly, and evacuees can compound their own stress by worrying about the pets they left behind,” said UAN president Nicole Forsyth. “For both human and animal safety, it is vital that every family include their pets in their evacuation plans.”
Through its volunteer-driven Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) , UAN provides free services for communities that become overwhelmed by natural disasters or other crises, including setting up and operating temporary animal relief shelters; evacuating animals from the disaster site; feeding and caring for displaced animals; distributing food and supplies to the community; and reuniting lost animals with their caregivers and finding new homes for unclaimed animals.
Emergency management and animal control agencies in Arkansas can call UAN at (916) 429-2457 for emergency sheltering assistance.
Founded in 1987, United Animal Nations (UAN) is North America ’s leading provider of emergency animal sheltering and disaster relief services and a key advocate for the critical needs of animals.
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