Published works

Responsibility for animals in emergencies lies with the owner. However, owners are often underprepared and have not planned for their animals, or themselves. This can lead to late evacuation, failure to evacuate, or risky acts trying to rescue, return to, or save animals. These situations can jeopardise public and responder safety and, as seen in several recent natural disaster events, loss of both human and animal lives. The loss of animals in disasters, often in extremely traumatic circumstances, can severely impede owner recovery, through loss of livelihoods, reductions in social capital, and enduring (disenfranchised) grief. Research in the United States has found that grief responses to loss of a pet can be equivalent to the loss of a sibling or family member (for example, Archer, 1997). Despite this evidence-base, there is still a tendency in emergency management to ignore or underestimate the significance of animal emergency management (AEM) as a legitimate area for mainstream consideration.