Disaster Preparedness Day: Animal Action Plan, PETA Reports

For immediate release:
May 6, 2021

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

Norfolk, Virginia. – Ahead of National Disaster Preparedness Day (May 8), PETA offers life-saving tips to help keep animals safe in inclement weather, including hurricanes and other storms. Could you provide your audience with the following key information? It can save the lives of cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters and other animals that should always be included in disaster preparedness plans:

• Keep animals indoors with you if you choose not to evacuate… Never leave them tethered, in paddocks, or in crates.
• Do not leave animals behind when evacuatingas they can drown or die from collapsing roofs or falling debris. Never think that it can be safe to leave animals unattended in the car – they can suffer from heatstroke when the ambient temperature rises above 70 degrees, and the car can even be overturned, crushed or flooded during a severe storm.
• Plan your destination: While some emergency shelters may not accept animals, some do and many hotels and motels do accept animals, especially during an emergency.
• During transport, keep the animals in secure carriers and keep the dogs in harness and on a leash, as dangerous conditions may cause them to flee. Make sure your companion animals are microchipped and wear legible ID tags, and bring water, food bowls, favorite toy, blanket, towel, and enough food for the week. Never open the car door with a cat hanging in it.
• Watch out for other animals in trouble, including missing neighbors and other animals that may have run away or stayed at home. If you see that an animal is in distress and cannot help, write down its whereabouts and seek immediate assistance from any authorities.

The PETA rescue team has witnessed the trauma that animals can suffer when thrown to meet flood waters and flying debris. We found dead dogs thrown in the wind and up to their necks in water, unable to sit or lie down, in almost flooded boxes inside houses.

PETA, whose motto, in part, is that “animals do not belong to us to abuse,” and which opposes racism, a worldview based on human superiority, offers more information on emergency preparedness here on TV Public Service Announcement (PSA), and in our print commercials. For more information, please contact us or subscribe to us at Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…