Animals left behind can get injured, fall ill, starve and hamper human evacuation and rescue efforts
(May 9, 2011) – As residents of Natchez, Mississippi and surrounding areas prepare for the Mississippi River to flood, United Animal Nations (UAN) encourages residents to bring their pets with them when they evacuate. Animals left behind during floods can drown, get injured, fall ill, starve, die, and hamper human evacuation and rescue efforts.
Families threatened by flooding are encouraged to:
- Bring pets along when they evacuate. Never leave pets behind to fend for themselves in a flood.
- Identify a place ahead of time to evacuate with pets. Many hotels and motels are pet-friendly, and those that aren’t often make exceptions during natural disasters. A database of pet-friendly accommodations is available at petswelcome.com or petfriendlyhotelsandtravel.com.
- Identify all pets. Affix a collar with ID tag containing mobile phone number or temporary contact number (such as the phone number of a hotel or relative) to each pet so they can be more easily reunited if lost.
- Assemble an animal disaster kit that includes food, water, medications, a leash or cat carrier for each pet, and photos of each animal with family members to prove ownership if they are lost.
“For both human and animal safety, people should never their pets behind when disaster strikes,” said UAN president Nicole Forsyth. “Animals left to fend for themselves during floods or other catastrophes suffer terribly, and evacuees can compound their own stress by worrying about the pets they left at home.”
Through its volunteer-driven Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS), UAN provides free temporary sheltering for communities that become overwhelmed by natural disasters or animal cruelty seizures. UAN operated temporary shelters for animal victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005; flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 2008; and flooding in Fargo, North Dakota in 2009. A team of UAN volunteers is currently caring for animals displaced by flooding in Kennett, Missouri.
MEDIA CONTACT: Alexis Raymond, (916) 429-2457 or araymond@uan.org
Founded in 1987, United Animal Nations focuses on bringing animals out of crisis and into care through a variety of programs, including emergency animal sheltering and disaster relief services, financial assistance for urgent veterinary care and humane education.
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