The following document was drafted by a multi-agency group to provide consensus recommendations on getting people and their pets reunited.  This will be a challenging and difficult process.  Hopefully, we will be able to apply lessons learned from this event to build stronger plans for the nation and for Colorado.

The document below received considerable input and many hours of effort from a number of national organizations.  Colorado SART was able to contribute by hosting the conference call meetings and providing staff support to the process. This document is now supported by a growing number of organizations, including:

• American Humane Association
• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
• The Humane Society of The United States (HSUS)
• Society of Animal Welfare Administrators (SAWA)
• United Animal Nations/Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS)
• State Animal Response Team (SART) programs from
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • North Carolina
  • Pennsylvania

In addition, other organizations are being added to this list daily.

 

National Consensus Recommendations

Interim Plan for National Pet-Owner Reunification

 

Hurricane Katrina’s broad regional impact and the subsequent catastrophic evacuation of a major metropolitan area in New Orleans has exposed a number of clear deficiencies in national, state, and local emergency plans related to animal protection.  Local, state, and federal governmental resources have been and are working with animal welfare organizations and veterinarians to provide relief and recovery actions related to animals affected by this horrific event.  As a result of the situation and limited onsite resources, animals were transported out of the affected area to shelters and rescue groups around the country.  While these actions may have been necessary under the circumstances, there is clearly a need for a national plan for large scale animal sheltering, as well as interim and long-term plans for pet reunification systems.

 

Holding Periods for Animals Displaced by Hurricane Katrina

 

The State Veterinarian and their official partners in the states of Mississippi and Louisiana have provided agreements on holding periods for many of the animals leaving their states for sheltering.  Organizations accepting those agreements should abide by their terms as a minimum standard.  In addition, state veterinarians in receiving states and individual organizations may wish to impose additional standards related to veterinary care, holding periods, euthanasia, sterilization, and pet-owner reunification efforts. 

 

During that holding period, animals should be listed on the http://petfinder.com Web site.  This site provides resources for both animal welfare organizations holding animals and for owners looking for their pets.  Organizations holding animals should commit staff and voluntary resources to thoroughly examine the Petfinder site on a regular basis for lost reports from owners that may match animals in the organization’s care.   For states without a directive from the state veterinarian and for organizations without a signed agreement from the state of origin, the following recommendations are made for holding animals displaced by Hurricane Katrina:

• Animals should be listed on the Petfinder Web site for a period of not less than 30 days.
• Animals should be evaluated for health and disposition and provided suitable preventive and therapeutic veterinary care for their condition.  Animals that present a known risk of zoonotic diseases (transmissible to humans) or demonstrate dangerous temperaments should not be placed into foster care.  The following reference documents related to veterinary healthcare and zoonotic disease control are located at:
• The University of California at Davis:  http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/msmp/katrina.htm
• US Centers for Disease Control/American Veterinary Medical Association: http://www.avma.org/aa/hurricane/disease_control.asp
• Any organization may elect to extend the time that animals are listed on the Petfinder site.  Once animals are permanently adopted, however, they should be removed from public view on the the Petfinder.  Organizations holding pets in extended foster care should consider listing of pets on Petfinder beyond December 15, 2005 to be unrealistic.
• While animals evacuated out of the affected region were intended to go to licensed animal welfare organizations, some unlicensed or ad-hoc groups are in possession of Katrina animals.  These groups should work with their state veterinarian or a licensed animal welfare organization to ensure that they are meeting a reasonable standard of care related to holding animals, veterinary care, and adoption.

Special Considerations:

 

Sterilization and Euthanasia

 

Whenever possible, state veterinarians should provide guidance on euthanasia and sterilization if not specified in agreements received from the state of origin.  In the absence of such guidance, organizations may need to set their own policies relative to any holding periods prior to sterilization of Katrina displaced animals.  Euthanasia may be necessary due to severe health problems or to unsafe temperament.  If euthanasia policies are neither specified in the transfer agreement nor provided through the state veterinarian of the destination state, organizations should develop and implement written organizational policies related to euthanasia of Katrina animals within the context of their resources.  No organization should be considered negligent for providing euthanasia or sterilization within the scope of this section.

 

Reunification and Transportation:

 

If reasonable evidence exists indicating the identity of an owner for any Katrina displaced animal, the animal should be returned to that owner with no adoption fees or transportation fees charged to the owners.  At the national and state level, animal welfare organizations, veterinary organizations, government, and private industry must create a cooperative partnership to ensure that transportation costs do not prohibit reunification.

 

Animals of Undocumented Status:

 

A number of animals have left the affected areas with groups that may lack sufficient documentation to clearly establish whether these animals were surrendered, available for adoption prior to the disaster, or lost pets that may have owners looking for them.  In these cases, organizations are strongly urged to place these animals on the Petfinder Web site for a period of at least 30 days.

 

Emergency Management and Pet Reunification Systems Development:

 

Animal protection resources need to be developed in such a manner as to address critical deficiencies that were present during the Hurricane Katrina disaster.  General reflections include:

• The National Response Plan must clearly define animal protection authorities and responsibilities within the federal government and mandate state and local animal protection planning efforts that help protect both animals and people.
• We need to expand animal incident management capacity at the national, state and local levels, to ensure an organized response framework for government agencies, animal welfare organizations and volunteers.
• We need to provide better training to animal emergency resources related to the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and incident command systems.
• Microchip identification issues related to microchip frequencies and scanner availability need to be resolved expediently and a national campaign to microchip all pet animals must proceed with high priority.
• A more user-friendly and efficient version of a Web-based disaster lost and found database must be developed and tested to ensure that an effective system is ready for future emergencies.
• A multi-agency, public-private task force on interstate movement of animals during disasters and related pet reunification systems should be considered to formulate recommendations to government officials and legislators.