Animals in Disaster

Over the course of years, it has become evident both inside and outside of the animal care field that there is a need to have plans for how animals will be accommodated in an emergency. Not only will these plans help to improve the outcome of a disaster for affected animals and their owners, they will also enhance human response to evacuations and other disaster relief efforts.

As it is never possible to be certain about the ability of outside entities to get into an affected area after any type of disaster, the most appropriate method of planning begins with planning for self sufficiency by animal owners and the local community. It may be days or longer before any state or federal assistance efforts can be brought to bear in response to a disaster event.

As such, this web page has been constructed to provide a source of information to anyone interested in enhancing the level of disaster preparedness for themselves and their animals: animal owners can link to resources that will provide checklists, planning tools, and other ideas to consider in readying themselves for the event that we hope will not arise. Communities can link to several animals-in-disaster response plans for use as templates - these plans have been drawn from around the country and should be tailored to your community's resources and needs. Anyone interested can link to the state response plans and legislation which address animals in disaster planning and preparedness.

Just like any valid emergency response plan, this page is a living document and will be updated and improved as time passes. If there are comments, please forward them to stephen.crawford@agr.nh.gov.

• Volunteer NH

Model Plans for Towns/Communities to Use in Preparing for Animals in Disaster

• Columbia County, GA

Personal Responsibility for Your Animals

• Pets
  • Plan Ahead Be Prepared, New Jersey Department of Agriculture
• Livestock
  • Emergency Information for Farmers, Food Processors, and Distributors
  • Plan Ahead Be Prepared, New Jersey Department of Agriculture