Animal Management in Disasters, Volume 1, Animals and People

By Sebastian Heath

Disasters create immense problems for both animal and human populations. Since its initial release in 1999 "Animal Management in Disasters" remains one of the most practical resource guides for animal owners, emergency managers, rescue personnel, veterinarians and anyone who intervenes in disasters. Animal Management in Disasters, Volume 1, Animals and People provides:
Comprehensive information on all aspects of animal care in disasters;
In depth understanding of natural and technological hazards;
Practical information on specific procedures to keep animals and owners safe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sebastian Heath
• Release date: Mar 29, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370640966

Book preview

ANIMAL MANAGEMENT

IN DISASTERS

VOLUME 1

ANIMALS AND PEOPLE

SEBASTIAN E HEATH

VetMB, PhD, DACVIM, DACVPM

Published by

Sebastian E Heath

Copyright © 2007 Sebastian E Heath

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher/author.

Permission to photocopy or reproduce solely for internal or personal use is permitted for libraries or other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, provided that the base fee for $4.00 per chapter plus $0.10 per page is paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 (http://www.copyright.com/). This consent dose not extend to other kinds of copying, such as copying for general distribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, for creating new collected works, or for resale.

Distributed by

Heath Animal Health

2901 Ellicott Street NW Washington, DC 20008

http://www.animaldisasters.com

Previously published by

Mosby, Inc.

11830 Westline Industrial Boulevard St. Louis, MO 64146

With the following credits:

Publisher: John A. Schrefer Executive Editor: Linda L. Duncan

Senior Development Editor: Teri Merchant Project Manager: Patricia Tannian Production Editor: Gail Stobaugh

Design Manager: Gail Morey Hudson Manufacturing Manager: Debbie Larocca

Electronic Composition Specialist: Sharon Ortmeyer Cover Design: Teresa Breckwoldt

Cover Photo Credits:

The Modesto Bee photograph by Ted Benson

The human-animal bond in disasters photograph by Kerri Marshall

International Standard Book Number 1-55664-419-1

Thomas.

Preface

SECTION I - INTRODUCTION

1. What Is Veterinary Disaster Management?

2. Myths and Realities in Disasters Involving Animals

3. History of Veterinarians’ Participation in Disaster Management

SECTION II - HAZARDS

4. Summer Weather

5. Winter Weather

6. Hurricanes

7. Floods

8. Earthquakes

9. Droughts and Heat

10. Fires

11. Hazardous Materials

SECTION III - INTERNATIONAL

12. Veterinary Disaster Management in Developing Countries

SECTION IV - APPENDICES

A. Text for a Brochure for the Care of Pets in Disasters

Within a few hours of arriving in Miami after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, I realized that the disaster’s effects on animals were due not as much to the impact of the storm as to the consequences of the chaos that followed. Nobody knew for sure how many horses were involved; what their injuries were; who was procuring food and water, disposing of manure, and handling donations; or whether what was being done had any financial or legal implications. However, within a few days I had organized our group to function similar to the way we work in the large animal teaching hospital. We thus embarked on one of the first managed responses to a disaster involving animals.

A few years later, when I was approached by Mosby to write this book, my initial response was that it was too early, that there were too many unknowns and competing groups in animal disaster management, and that it was not clear who would play what roles. As this book goes to print, many questions still do not have complete answers. Nevertheless, through my continuing work from the local community to the international arena, I am now convinced that people in emergency management and in the animal care community have shared enough experiences for both audiences to be ready for a first textbook on animal management in disasters.

Most sociologic research on disasters indicates that disasters do not create new conditions; they simply exacerbate existing ones. The vulnerability to existing weaknesses is the basis for the concept that disasters are cyclical events with four phases: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Every community is in at least one of these phases at any given time. The most effective disaster reduction programs work diligently in all phases, especially mitigation and preparedness, which have the greatest impact on reducing the vulnerability to disasters.

The care of animals and their owners in disasters still lags behind other disciplines. Many reports about animals in disasters are sensationalized in that they reflect underlying societal problems in animal care rather than emphasize constructive alternatives that could improve overall animal wellbeing. For example, household evacuation failure because of pets is evidence of misplaced anthropomorphism. Pet evacuation failure is often a sign of animal neglect, and the number of animals available for adoption after a disaster is usually large because of the many stray, neglected, and abused animals that are an ongoing problem. Instead of reports on those issues, the constructive approach is to describe what animal owners should do to prevent such situations from occurring in the first place.

A common reaction to the reports has been disaster response programs that have based their mission on inappropriate assumptions. The groups that limit themselves to response activities condone in some ways the conditions that result in the needs of disaster victims. These groups should address those conditions through mitigation and preparedness programs.

This book is an attempt to show the scope of the management of animals in disasters. I have tried to provide specific actions that individuals and groups can take to improve the care and welfare of animals and their owners before, during, and after times of disaster and to show why these measures are important.

In the Introduction I offer a foundation for the management of animals in disasters by reviewing some of the history of veterinary disaster management. I also try to dispel some common myths and elucidate the common although inappropriate assumptions about what happens in disasters. In this section I propose a first definition of this emerging aspect of public and animal health.

The Hazards section is intended to raise awareness of the risks to personal safety from common conditions that lead to disasters of all scales. Approximately 3 million U.S. citizens are affected by small-scale disasters every year, at a cost to this country of over $1 billion a week. The principal goal of the animal care professions in the management of animals in disasters is to reduce the occurrence and impact of common, local, and personal disasters. The underlying principle is that preparedness for disasters that occur every day is the best preparedness for extraordinary disasters. In this context it is important to realize that individual animal owners have the greatest potential to protect their animals from all disasters.

People who are unprepared and unable to take care of their own needs when disaster strikes will not be able to help others. Similar principles apply to preparedness at work. The Business section emphasizes this and another principle of disaster preparedness—all disaster preparedness starts at the local level. To be able to provide animal care during a disaster, businesses must have business continuity plans. Business continuity plans include personal disaster preparedness and safety plans for common hazards in the workplace, methods for storage and retrieval of records, and adequate insurance and financial security. If businesses cannot function in common and local disasters, they will also not function in large-scale disasters. Preparedness for common disasters that arise in animal care–related businesses is essential for a business to function as a critical animal care facility in a major disaster.

The pinnacle of disaster preparedness is a disaster-resistant community. In most communities emergency management agencies provide an authoritative and systematic approach in all phases of a disaster. Professional emergency managers have long recognized that the impacts and consequences of many disasters can be predicted and that many of the issues that arise are the result of poor community preparedness for everyday problems. This introduces a third principle of emergency management, which is that the response to disasters is most effective if it is carried out by those persons and groups that deal during their regular work with the same issues that arise in disasters.

This principle is the reason that local veterinary practices and animal shelters are the best ones to deal with animals and their owners. Both are familiar with local standards of care, deal with management of stress in animal owners, have experience in dealing with staff and volunteers, and have a permanent vested interest in the community.

The formal method of planning is the subject of the Structure of Emergency Management section. This section also includes information on the authority under which the animal care and emergency management professions operate, their expertise, and their typical resources. Throughout this section I have emphasized another important principle of emergency management, which is that disasters should be managed in a consistent and modular fashion. This is best accomplished by using existing expertise and resources rather than by stockpiling resources for extraordinary events. To facilitate the inclusion of the management of animals in disasters by other emergency management groups, I have proposed a systematic nomenclature for the Veterinary Incident Management System. The Disaster Relief section covers experiences in managing disaster relief and some of the common stumbling blocks that veterinary disaster management has faced, such as who pays for the care of animals and their owners, how responders are covered for liability, and how donations are handled effectively and ethically.

Examples of typical issues that arise for different types of animals in disasters are the subject of the Management of Animals in Disasters section. This section is ordered by species, because even though different disasters can affect a community in many ways, most disasters create similar consequences. Certain consequences are often related to specific types of animals because of typical deficiencies in the animals’ everyday care. In these chapters I emphasize mitigation and preparedness measures that individual owners can implement and that will be effective for many types of disasters.

I have chosen to take a slightly different approach to the effects of disasters on the livestock industry. The livestock industry already operates under mandated plans to protect public and animal health specifically from nuclear power plant accidents and transboundary (foreign animal) disease outbreaks. However, few of the plans take into account likely human behaviors and public expectations that arise in most other types of disasters. For example, livestock producers (more than pet owners) are unlikely to evacuate without their animals or, if forced to evacuate, are likely to reenter a secured area to provide their animals with feed and water. Also, the public is apt to question the safety of food that was exposed to nuclear fallout.

Food safety is included in the discussion of disasters affecting the livestock industry because many food-borne disease outbreaks could be handled in a way similar to other all-hazards emergency management programs. Although we do not currently have solutions to many of the problems facing the livestock industry in disasters, interest is growing in identifying the probable consequences of disasters and in mitigating the effects by improving animal health in general.

The International section is a look to the future of veterinary disaster management. As the care of animals and their owners improves in this country, I can only hope that we will be able to share our expertise in an effective way with other countries. Many of the principles of international emergency management are similar to those within a country, but increased levels of sensitivity and accountability should be considered.

Several subjects that might be expected are not included. For example, I refrain from dissertations on model programs that promote extraordinary responses such as field triage, white water and helicopter rescues, and mass veterinary medical care. These may be effective media events but have rarely saved many lives or prevented injury in disaster-struck populations. It is simply a greater priority to address issues that can improve public and animal health on a broad and everyday basis.

I do not prescribe detailed operational procedures because the best procedures are those that are developed by the persons who will be using them.

I deliberately omitted a chapter on bioterrorism. I did not want to offer a recipe for this type of disaster. The introduction of a transboundary disease into U.S. agriculture is both technologically and financially feasible as an intentional act of terrorism or as a result of the naïve actions of an international traveler. The losses the livestock industry and the entire country would suffer from such an introduction would be catastrophic.

The future of veterinary disaster management looks promising. Animal health care professionals and emergency managers are recognizing ways to incorporate expertise about animals into existing emergency management functions. With this approach the opportunities to improve public health and animal wellbeing abound.

One of the greatest challenges for those of us who live and work with animals is to recognize that we are the best and most responsible resource for the care of animals in times of disaster. Disaster preparedness is a meaningful social value; it contributes to a stronger human-animal bond and to community strength and growth.

The attention that disasters attract provides an opportunity to improve overall animal husbandry and business management practices among animal owners and allied industries. By applying the principles of disaster mitigation and preparedness in everyday life, we have the potential to improve the care of animals at all times, not only in times of crisis.

Sebastian E. Heath

Disasters in the United States have increased considerably in frequency and cost in recent years. Between 1989 and 1994 presidents made 291 disaster declarations. In the first 5 years of the 1990s federal government and insurance payouts for disasters amounted to some $67 billion (Fig. 1-1). These figures, however, reflect only the large-scale and highly publicized disasters. Many small-scale disasters do not capture the attention of even the local media. Table 1-1 shows the frequency with which these may occur. In an average year an estimated 2 to 3 million families are affected by disasters, most of which are small scale and personal. These common disasters cause an estimated $50 billion in damage every year.

Throughout history wise statements have indicated that the way people care for animals is a reflection of how they care about everything else. Today statements to that effect are supported by scientific evidence of the connection between animal and human health, animal and child abuse, and wildlife conservation and environmental protection. People who believe in one often believe in the other. The same applies to the care of animals in disasters. Every society derives benefits from its association with animals, whether it uses them for food or simply derives comfort from them. Therefore a part of how we care for people in disasters should include caring about animals that are important to them.

North American society is undergoing changes in its attitude toward animals. Two of the most important changes are the urban society’s increasing acceptance of companion animals as family members and the increasing size of animal production units in rural areas. Concurrent with these changes is an increasing appreciation of the value of the human-animal bond, improved food safety, and conservation of the environment. The human-animal bond contributes to a large segment of society’s quality of life and motivates improved animal well-being. Environmental concerns arise out of the discussion on how to integrate animal production units with conservation of the environment. Veterinary disaster preparedness interfaces with all of these issues because they all can become threatened and disrupted in disasters.

Until the early 1980s no academic programs in emergency management existed, and by the late 1990s only a few have established themselves in the field. Examples are the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center in Colorado, the Disaster Research Center of Delaware, and the University of Wisconsin Disaster Management Center. In the veterinary arena disaster management does not have an academic home, and there has been considerable reluctance to include veterinary disaster management in curricula on veterinary public health, critical care, and practice management. The little research that has been done has come out of the large animal clinics of the University of Tennessee and Purdue University. This book is the first attempt to define, exemplify, and direct veterinary emergency management.

The remainder of the text will go into great depth about what happens to animals, their owners, and support industries in disasters and about how to reduce the impact of disasters. Before this journey begins, an attempt to define disasters is useful. This is not always easy.

DEFINITION OF DISASTER

Because disasters cross geographic, political, and academic boundaries, many definitions of disasters exist. Here several important definitions are given to provide a conceptual understanding of the breadth of the subject.

Disaster Victim’s Definition of a Disaster

Most people would agree that the effects of Hurricane Andrew, with over $20 billion in damages, were a disaster. As a result of this storm families saw their homes destroyed, lost their places of work, and suffered from substantial levels of personal stress. If these impacts are characteristic of a disaster, should we then consider an individual house fire to be a disaster? Here again a family may lose its home, members may not be able to get to work, and all may suffer personal stress. The answer is yes, even though the definition of a disaster is not as straight-forward in this case.

FIG. 1-1 Total insured losses for major natural disasters, 1989 to 1995. (From Federal Emergency Management Agency: Multihazard identification and risk assessment: a cornerstone of the national mitigation strategy, Washington, DC, 1997, FEMA.)

For the family whose house burned down this may well be a disaster, but for the fire service, responding to this fire may be a routine call, one of several emergencies that week.

Both events can be considered disasters because the definition of a disaster depends largely on how the event affects the victims. If an incident overwhelms the victim’s resources, it can become a disaster. By comparison, if an incident can be dealt with using existing resources, it is probably better to refer to the situation as an emergency. The differences between emergency and disaster are discussed in this chapter.

Disaster victims can be individual persons, groups (e.g., a family), or communities (e.g., a multiple-building apartment complex, a city, a county, a state, or even a country).

Examples of resources are people (helping bystanders), money (cash reserves, donations), equipment (fire trucks, water, or ambulances), special services (emergency response personnel), infrastructure (bridges, public transportation), and knowledge (training in emergency management).

Because each victim has a different level of resources, similar incidents may be disastrous to one victim but harmless to another. Since the victim is really the best person to determine whether a state of disaster exists, potential and actual victims are the ones to make the decision about whether they require additional help and what that help should be. Equally, responders must be aware of who will request disaster relief and how appropriate disaster relief should be provided. Invariably the most enlightened responders are those who are already present in the community before the disaster strikes.

Match Between Resource Needs and Availability

The terms emergency and disaster are at two ends of a scale of everyday events, in which the size of the incident and number of resources are less important than how well these are matched. At one end of the scale emergencies result from incidents, regardless of their size, that are matched by adequate or nearly adequate resources. Emergencies therefore usually are resolved quickly. At the other end of the scale disasters result from incidents, again regardless of their size, that are met by inadequate resources. By definition therefore disasters cannot be completely planned for; if they could, they would no longer be disasters.

One confusing point is that the terms emergency and disaster often are used interchangeably in colloquial language. However, this should not distract from the principles of disaster management.

At the community level factors that determine disasters include a lack of sufficient resources, inefficient application of these resources, a large number of people affected, prolonged duration of effects on people, a significant economic impact, and disruption of infrastructure.

Using the examples of resources above, disasters could result from some of the following situations:

- Insufficient help: More individuals are injured or infected than helpful bystanders or emergency medical personnel can help.

- Insufficient financial reserves: A member of a family has large medical bills that the family cannot meet.

- Insufficient infrastructure: A bridge in a rural county with a small tax base cannot be repaired because of insufficient cash or matching