Responding to the Needs of Companion Animals in Natural Disasters: A Local Government Perspective

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Responding to the Needs of Companion Animals in
Natural Disasters A Local Government
Perspective

• Dr Ann-Marie Boyd
• Moreton Bay Regional Council
• The Australian Institute of Animal Management

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Moreton Bay Regional Council

• Combines the Councils of Caboolture, Pine Rivers
  and Redcliffe
• Covers 2011 sq km, and has a population of
  343,553
• Is a mix of urban, beachside, industrial and
  rural communities throughout
• Is home to 65,000 registered dogs

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Arana Hills/ Bunya / The Gap November 2008
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Potential Natural Disasters Identified by MBRC
Council

• Flooding
• Severe Storms
• Storm Tide inundation/surge
• Major fire/bushfire
• Cyclone
• Heatwave
• Epidemic/Pandemic
• Exotic animal/pest disease

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Disaster Management Arrangements - Council
Develops and Maintains

• Event Coordination Centre
• Standard Operating Procedures and processes for
  activation of ECC including authorisation for
  instigating the five levels of activation

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Disaster Management Arrangements - Council
Develops and Maintains

• Staff training pursuant to their roles
• Event communication strategy including roles,
  responsibilities, hardware and procedures
• Plans to address operational requirements and
  processes required to manage an event i.e. plans
  for evacuation, welfare, transport, health and
  recovery

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Disaster Management Arrangements - Council
Develops and Maintains
Threat specific plans to support the arrangements
and operations of lead combatant agencies i.e.
Queensland Health pandemics/Health, Department
of Primary industries Exotic Animal Plant
Diseases Cooperative and collaborative
arrangements with other emergency response
agencies e.g. Police and Fire Services
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Warning Systems

• Council develops and maintains systems and
  strategies in order to warn the community prior
  to, during and post an event and/or to activate
  the community.
• Collaboration with the Dept. of Emergency
  Services, Bureau of Meteorology and other
  emergency response agencies and the use of the
  Standard Emergency Warning Signal in assisting
  the delivery of public warnings and messages for
  major emergency events.

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Public Education

• Council will develop and maintain a public
  education program/strategy for the delivery of
  information to the public with regard to disaster
  management arrangements and initiatives with the
  aim to creating a more aware and resilient
  community.
• South East Queensland Disaster Management
  Advisory Group (SEQDMAG)- Council is an active
  participant in the SEQDMAG regional Project One
  Voice strategy.

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Public Education Targets

• Encourage people throughout to prepare themselves
  and their properties for severe storm and high
  wind events.
• Improve safety awareness levels and behaviour
  during severe storm and high wind events.
• Ensure people know how to access information and
  assistances from relevant agencies immediately
  before, during and immediately after, a severe
  storm or high wind event.

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Councils Response Capability

• Trained personnel.
• Vehicles, plant and equipment.
• Community halls identified as first line
  evacuation centres.
• Other facilities identified as second line
  evacuation centres.
• Arrangements are in place with community
  organisations for the delivery of welfare
  services.

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So Whats Missing?

• Currently little or no involvement from Councils
  animal management areas.
• Evacuation and emergency centres centres after
  the 2008 storms were planned with no strategies
  for dealing with pets that may arrive with
  families or those that are left behind unattended.

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The Australian Institute of Animal Management
(AIAM)

• AIAM Draft Position Statement on Disaster
  Planning in Urban Animal Management
• Supporting document Urban animal management in
  disaster planning Elke Tapley

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Purpose

• Recognition that Animal Management officers need
  to be involved in Emergency Management Planning
  because
• population evacuations in the face of emergency
  threats will always involve animals
• people will often refuse to leave their pets
  behind - and that adds a whole extra dimension to
  planning that is often not given adequate
  consideration.

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• The AIAMs position paper is intended to assist
  Council animal management officers by providing
  them with a process for reviewing their links
  with their council in conjunction with the
  overall emergency management plans.
• This model, which is based on the Australian /
  New Zealand Standard in Risk Management, has been
  specially designed for use by councils.

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Why?

• Restoring animal owner links in the aftermath of
  evacuation is an important aspect of social
  recovery and return to normalcy.
• Legislation governing animal management
  throughout Australia prohibits animals being a
  nuisance, wandering at large or endangering the
  public.
• All of these circumstances occur in disaster
  emergencies and Animal Management Officers are
  expected to deal with them.

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How?

• The supporting document has a flexible
  regional/local emphasis that encourages animal
  management officers to be actively engaged in the
  emergency and disaster response planning that
  will probably involve them.
• It provides a checklist for reviewing the
  currency of resource availability, inter agency
  agreements and chain of command protocols that
  are relevant to animal management staff
  involvement in the event of an emergency
  situation.

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Animal Management Staff in Local Government Need
to Know About and Be Involved With Emergency and
Disaster Planning!

• Pets will be involved in population evacuations
  and may be separated from their owners.
• Pets may need extensive, secure and operationally
  functional holding facilities.
• Public health and safety issues associated with
  pets at large may arise.
• Animal welfare, wildlife and livestock impacts
  may need attention.

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• If not managed, the animals themselves can become
  part of the problem and create public health and
  safety risks.
• The panic associated with a disaster or emergency
  situation is enough to distress and disorientate
  people worrying about the whereabouts and
  welfare of their pets adds an extra stress.
• Good animal management will assist in minimising
  the impact of the event.
• Planning can help protect animal management teams
  from being expected to work miracles with very
  short notice and inadequate resources.

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• Networking with neighbouring municipalities
  throughout the planning phase,
• and including them as key stakeholders and
  allies, can help synchronise any processes and
  apply consistency.
• Consulting with local emergency management
  coordinators can help capture any plans that are
  in place and being implemented to ensure that the
  animal management activities are part of the
  overall response.

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Where Do We Start?

• The following checklist provides a mechanism for
  reviewing animal management emergency and
  disaster response plans. It considers issues such
  as
• Determining the type of disaster or emergency
  which is most likely in any location.

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• Determining who the key stakeholders are in the
  area and establishing a committee to ensure that
  input from each key area is captured.
• Investigating legislative responsibilities prior
  to meeting with the committee. Compiling a list
  of contacts from the commencement of the planning
  stage.
• Reviewing local knowledge of the area and the
  numbers and types of animals in it.

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The To-do List

• Ensure that 24hr contact lists are detailed and
  current for all key staff in participating
  organisations who are parties to the agreement.
• Develop a brochure/information sheet that
  incorporates pets and livestock into local
  emergency planning arrangements.

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MOUs

• Consider entering into a Memorandum of
  Understanding (MOU) with shelters, pounds,
  boarding establishments and livestock carriers in
  your area.
• The purpose of an MOU is to define the
  expectations, terms and conditions of a working
  relationship between the parties. e.g. SERAMG
  Council Animal Shelters MOU 2007.

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• Recognise that there may be emergencies or
  disasters which will impact on more than one
  Council and standard operating procedures may not
  be sufficient to manage the numbers of animals
  involved.
• Incorporate into emergency and disaster
  publications and plans references to animals i.e.
  where and how pets will be housed and the process
  for owners to reclaim them.

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• Specify the different stages and tasks required
  in the response and recovery phases of an
  incident and allocating position roles to each.
  This will assist in selecting and training staff
  to specific roles.
• Establish a register or process for recording and
  identifying animals held by Council officers
  during an emergency or disaster incident.

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Local GovernmentChecklist for Emergency Animal
Management Preparedness

• Indicate emergency types to consider
• List relevant Interagency communication
• Review public communication
• Equipment check list items required storage
  location
• Emergency kit check list
• Resources for transportation
• Training for Employees/Volunteers
• Review contacts
• Review stakeholders

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• The AIAM endorsed this position statement at the
  time of the Darwin AIAM conference in October,
  2008.

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