Title: Responding to the Needs of Companion Animals in Natural Disasters: A Local Government Perspective
1Responding 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
2Moreton 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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4Arana Hills/ Bunya / The Gap November 2008
5Potential Natural Disasters Identified by MBRC
Council
- Flooding
- Severe Storms
- Storm Tide inundation/surge
- Major fire/bushfire
- Cyclone
- Heatwave
- Epidemic/Pandemic
- Exotic animal/pest disease
6Disaster 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
7Disaster 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
8Disaster 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
9Warning 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.
10Public 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.
11Public 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.
12Councils 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.
13So 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.
14The 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
15Purpose
- 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.
16- 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.
17Why?
- 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.
18How?
- 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.
19Animal 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.
20- 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.
21- 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.
22Where 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.
23- 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.
24The 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.
25MOUs
- 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.
26- 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.
27- 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.
28Local 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
29- The AIAM endorsed this position statement at the
time of the Darwin AIAM conference in October,
2008.
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