It’s hard to believe that it has been ten years since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Tragically, thousands of people perished, and many lost everything, including their beloved pets. In fact, it is estimated that 50,000-70,000 animals died during that time along the coast, and 90,000 have never been accounted for. It is believed that 15,000 pets were rescued from the devastation, but many more could have been had there been formal evacuation practices in place.
In 2006, the Senate passed the Pets Evacuation & Transportation Standards Act which authorizes FEMA to rescue, shelter and help people with pets. This is a huge step in protecting both animals and people because when Katrina hit, there was no law for this. Therefore, around 44,000 people refused to leave their pets so they didn’t evacuate when they were urged to, resulting in many more human casualties. Hopefully, one day, farm animals will have similar protections (they currently do not) and that once this legislation is fully implemented and in place, we will not see the level of displacement and mortality for domesticated animals during natural disasters and their aftermaths. What do you think about this law?
