Disaster Planning for Pets
During last year's bushfires, it was obvious that many people had not planned effectively for the evacuation of their pets. In the upcoming fire season, if people are evacuated Animal Aid recommends that they keep their dogs and small caged animals with them. However, we recommend that they place cats in emergency accommodation at a shelter, boarding cattery or veterinary clinic. This is due to the difficulties in containing cats and the owner's ability to provide them with a good quality of life while confined in a carrying cage.

1. The MOST important thing is to know where your pets are on high risk days.
2. The second most important thing is to be prepared.
3. The third most important thing is to have them identified.

On high risk days, plan to leave your pets with family or friends living in low risk areas, make arrangements at boarding facilities for doggy or kitten daycare or alternatively, if your workplace will allow it, take your pet to work with you. On high risk days, do not let your pets out unsupervised, as they may take fright and run away. After Black Saturday, many owners told us tales about getting ready to escape the Black Saturday fire front and their animals taking fright and running away before owners could shut them in the car. This meant that some owners had to flee without their animals.

Contact your council and establish whether they will allow pets in the emergency refuge centers, if not, then you need to consider this in your plan. It may be worthwhile lobbying your council to reconsider their stance on this issue.

Identification provides you with the best chance of being reunited with your pet should you become separated from them. Ideally all pets should be microchipped, as they cannot lose this form of identification. If your animals are microchipped, then ensure that your contact details, particularly your mobile phone number, are current. During bushfires, telephone poles burn and landlines become inoperative; we recommend that mobile phone numbers are the best form of contact. To check your pets microchip details visit Central Animal Records at www.car.com.au (phone 03 9706 3187) or the Australian Animal Registry at www.aar.org.au (phone 02 9704 1450).

Leaving a collar on your dog on high risk day, will help you catch your pet if you have to leave in a hurry. Remember that even though your dog may normally love going for trips in the car, during a disaster they may become fearful and nervous.

Ensure that your pets' vaccinations are up to date and that you have proof of this. If you should need to house a pet in emergency accommodation, or a boarding facility. This is very helpful as these organizations require dogs to have a C5 vaccination and cats an F3 vaccination before admission.

Remember - It is possible that you may be evacuated for an extended period of time, or that you may lose everything.

Evacuation Check list for Pets

	YES	N/A
Collar and lead/halter for each animal
Bedding/rugs
Food and water containers
Food and water
Medications
Vaccination card/s (& medical records if he/she has a complex health issue). This document will also have your veterinarians contact details on it.
Secure containment, such as a crate, float or car. To be used if/when you have to leave your pet unattended in an emergency relief centre, or a relative’s home.
Comfort item/s such as a favorite toy
Brushes and other grooming aids
For cats, litter trays and litter
Temporary fencing for Livestock (horses etc) such as battery powered electric fence unit, plus electric tape and tread ins or star pickets.

Remember - It is possible that you may be evacuated for an extended period of time, or that you may lose everything.

Livestock
In a disaster, it may be impossible to evacuate most of your livestock therefore you need to plan for their safety on your property. You may have a highly valuable animal that you choose to evacuate, in which case you need to plan to have appropriate transport available, packed with all the requirements necessary to maintain the animal.

If you choose to evacuate animals, do so as early as possible. This is for your safety and theirs. For example, most livestock are prey animals and so their main response to fear is to run. The smell of smoke may cause a horse to panic and become difficult to load, or cause them to injure themselves in the float. Floating a horse in a rush as fire approaches should not be part of your disaster plan.

For animals that cannot be moved, the provision of a cleared area such as a ploughed, slashed or well eaten out paddock will provide a refuge and improve the animals' chances of survival. You can further increase their chance of survival by fitting internal gates within your property, which can be opened in the event of a fire, allowing animals some possibility to move away from the path of the fire. Horses are at risk of serious hoof injuries and damage from heat. This risk is increased if the horses are wearing metal shoes, which will conduct the heat into their feet. Therefore, metal shoes should be removed from horses that will not be evacuated.

Ensure that water is available in heat resistant containers in the paddocks and remember that plastic containers melt in fires. Animals need to remain hydrated during bushfires. Do not leave any animals tethered outside. Remove rugs, fly-veils and halters from horses, as plastic can melt and metal buckles can burn into the animal’s flesh.

Animal Aid has an ‘Animal Evacuation Declaration form' available which you can download below. This can be used to identify if you have evacuated the property and if you have either taken your animals with you or had to leave them behind. This information may prevent rescue workers wasting time looking for animals that have been evacuated. The Declaration should be completed and taped to a window near the front door, where it can be easily seen. Identifying where animals have been left, should they not have been evacuated, will ensure that they receive assistance as rapidly as possible.

While Animal Aid is always here to help, the harsh reality is that if a disaster occurs during peak period such as Christmas, emergency accommodation at any shelter or boarding facility will be very limited. It is imperative that every pet owner plans for their pets’ survival.

Planning now can save your animals lives.

Download this document in PDF format here >>
Download the Animal Evacuation Declaration form here >>

Animal Aid played a large part in the many lives that were affected by the Black Saturday Fires. It is safe to say that no individual or organisation was prepared for the gravity of this event. In preparation for the coming fire season (and with the knowledge that many other natural disasters could affect our local area) Animal Aid are ready to assist. We are developing an Emergency Response Unit and team and we need your help to allow us to help others. If you would like to donate to this cause, please click the “Donation Paw” to your right.

To see the efforts carried out by Animal Aid and our many supporters during the Black Saturday fires click here >>

Other useful sources of information for disaster planning for animals include:
Emergency Management Australia - www.ema.gov.au
Wildlife Victoria - www.wildlifevictoria.org.au
Department of Sustainability and Environment -  www.dse.vic.gov.au for information on assisting wildlife during a disaster, 
DPI offers many information Notes online such as Horses and Bushfires and Recovery after fire: Practical steps for landholders.
General Disaster Planning Information is available at:
CFA -  www.cfa.vic.gov.au  and the Victorian Bushfire Information Line - 1800 240 667
State Emergency Service - www.ses.vic.gov.au
Australian Red Cross - www.redcross.org.au

Emergency Contact Numbers:
Victorian State Emergency Service 132 500
Emergency Services (Ambulance, Fire and Police) - 000