PETS Act Passes
No Pet Left Behind in Disasters
The House passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, H.R. 3858, in a landslide 349-24 vote. The PETS Act requires local and state emergency preparedness authorities to include in their evacuation plans how they will accommodate household pets and service animals in case of a disaster. Local and state authorities must submit these plans in order to qualify for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Furthermore, the Senate version of the PETS Act (S. 2548):
Grants FEMA the authority to assist in developing these plans.
Authorizes financial help to states to create emergency shelters for people with their animals.
Requires the provision of essential assistance for individuals with household pets and service animals, and the animals themselves, following a major disaster.
In addition to the trauma experienced by evacuees who are forced to abandon their animal companions and the subsequent suffering the animals endure, there are serious health and safety risks to disaster areas that are exacerbated by the abandoning of pets. Many of these problems can be mitigated or eliminated simply through the proper planning and response.
You can help this effort by writing to your Senator/Congressperson about it. The Humane Society of the United States has a great email campaign:
https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2006_PETS3/ugg83i2953jkjj?qp_source=gabao7
The House passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, H.R. 3858, in a landslide 349-24 vote. The PETS Act requires local and state emergency preparedness authorities to include in their evacuation plans how they will accommodate household pets and service animals in case of a disaster. Local and state authorities must submit these plans in order to qualify for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Furthermore, the Senate version of the PETS Act (S. 2548):
Grants FEMA the authority to assist in developing these plans.
Authorizes financial help to states to create emergency shelters for people with their animals.
Requires the provision of essential assistance for individuals with household pets and service animals, and the animals themselves, following a major disaster.
In addition to the trauma experienced by evacuees who are forced to abandon their animal companions and the subsequent suffering the animals endure, there are serious health and safety risks to disaster areas that are exacerbated by the abandoning of pets. Many of these problems can be mitigated or eliminated simply through the proper planning and response.
You can help this effort by writing to your Senator/Congressperson about it. The Humane Society of the United States has a great email campaign:
https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2006_PETS3/ugg83i2953jkjj?qp_source=gabao7
posted by Wendy Hughes-Jelen @ 11:11 AM
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