Petition to save homeless hurricane animals To: The National Humane Organizations

PETITION: Petition to save homeless hurricane animals
To: The National Humane Organizations
SIGN PETITON: http://network.bestfriends.org/Petitions/Detail.aspx?pn=2

We, the undersigned, urge the national humane organizations to use all the
resources and funds that were donated to the hurricane relief effort to
ensure that animals still surviving on the streets of the Gulf region are
rescued and cared for...

Assessment of Greater New Orleans and Gulf Coast Region as of Nov 20, 2005
http://network.bestfriends.org/News/PostDetail.aspx?g=86da7a605ab011da8cd60800200c9a66&np=107

November 22, 2005
During the week of November 13-20, 2005, five Best Friends staffers
conducted a comprehensive needs assessment in the greater New Orleans and
Gulf Coast region.

Mississippi assessment areas: Jackson, Hancock, and Harrison counties.
Louisiana assessment areas: Jefferson Parish, Orleans Parish, St. Bernard
Parish, and Plaquemines Parish.

The team was led by Best Friends’ director of operations, Paul Berry, and
included Sherry Woodard and Ethan Gurney (who have been leading rescue and
animal care efforts since early September), Steven Hirano (development
director), and Barbara Williamson (media relations manager).

Overall Summary
Many thousands of former pets remain displaced by Hurricane Katrina and its
aftermath. Many of these pets are existing in now unpopulated and unsafe
areas, unable to be rescued by their owners.

Volunteers are still needed to feed and humanely trap these pets; holding
facilities are needed throughout the region to provide temporary housing;
and a major public campaign must be launched to encourage the fostering and,
where needed, the adoption of these pets.

Following are findings by county or parish:

Jackson County, Mississippi
(Ocean Springs, Gautier, etc.)
Summary:
We interviewed Barbara McKenzie, director of Gulf Coast SPCA. McKenzie has
been assisting rescue and recovery efforts in Jackson, Hancock and Harrison
counties. Her organization is headquartered in Hancock County, where the
majority of her efforts have been focused.

McKenzie explained that county animal control director Bill Richman has been
working hands-on since the hurricane to keep pace with animal rescues. She
further explained that Hancock County has had eight animal control officers
(ACOs) patrolling since recovery efforts began there, and that their field
efforts have had significant success in rescuing displaced pets from the
area.

The result is that there is no urgent need for more field rescue personnel,
but that the county shelter is “overflowing” with unclaimed pets. And,
without sufficient help in transport and placement outside the disaster
area, the shelter has had to resort to routine euthanasia to keep pace with
rescue intake.

Many of the animals rescued are in definite need of general veterinary care
for hunger, skin ailments, etc. Private veterinarians have returned to the
area and are in full operation.

Immediate needs:
* A short-term holding facility to administer veterinary and general health triage
* Subsidized veterinary support and support personnel for short-term triage
* Transport vehicles to move animals from triage to placement outside the
rescue area as part of a national adoption campaign

Long-term needs:
* Affordable, high-volume spay/neuter services for low-income family pets,
with the goal of achieving zero euthanasia for healthy and treatable pets
* Access to affordable general veterinary care for low-income family pets to
reduce general, treatable ailments such as mange, heartworm and fleas

Harrison County, Mississippi
(Pass Christian, Gulfport, Biloxi, etc.)
Summary:
Best Friends interviewed Tara High, executive director of the Humane Society
of South Mississippi (HSSM), which provides animal control services for
Gulfport, Biloxi, Long Beach, Pass Christian and Harrison County.

HSSM is the second largest animal control district in the disaster area.
(Jefferson Parish has the largest animal control district and Orleans Parish
has the third largest district.)

High explained that there are currently seven ACOs operating in Harrison
County, managing rescue operations of displaced pets. She said that more
rescuers are needed, as there are still many displaced pets at large.

The HSSM shelter is currently operating beyond its normal capacity of 125
animals, sheltering a daily average of 200 rescued animals.

The state vet has mandated a five-day holding period for all rescued
animals, to give owners a chance to reclaim their pets. High said there is
an urgent need to transport animals to placement outside of the area after
the five-day holding period has been fulfilled, to relieve the over-burdened
shelter facility. As in Jackson County, without sufficient help in transport
and placement outside the disaster area, the shelter has had to resort to
routine euthanasia to keep pace with rescue intake.

Many of the animals rescued are in definite need of general veterinary care
for hunger, skin ailments, etc. Private veterinarians have returned to the
area and are in full operation, but more veterinary support is needed.

High explained that the state vet office in Mississippi has maintained a
cooperative relationship with the various agencies in Mississippi and she
recommends working with that office to secure additional veterinary support.

Immediate needs:
* Rescuers and rescue support personnel to augment ongoing ACO efforts
* A short-term holding facility to administer veterinary and general health triage
* Subsidized veterinary support and support personnel for short-term triage
* Transport vehicles to move animals from triage to placement outside the
rescue area as part of a national adoption campaign

Long-term needs:
* Affordable, high-volume spay/neuter services for low-income family pets,
with the goal of achieving zero euthanasia for healthy and treatable pets
* Access to affordable general veterinary care for low-income family pets to
reduce general, treatable ailments such as mange, heartworm and fleas
* In January 2006, HSSM will finish construction on a 5,000square-foot
medical facility that, with sufficient subsidy and transport, can
significantly augment the above needs for the three-county region

Hancock County, Mississippi
(Waveland, Bay St. Louis, etc.)
Summary:
Best Friends interviewed Renee Lick, director of Waveland Animal Shelter
(WAS), which provides animal control services for Waveland, Bay St. Louis
and Hancock County. WAS currently has four ACOs managing the animal rescue
and rescue sheltering.

After the mandatory five-day holding period, animals are transferred by In
Defense of Animals (IDA) to the Best Friends emergency shelter in Tylertown.
Because of this ongoing support from IDA and Best Friends, WAS rescue
operations and shelter operations have stabilized.

Veterinary support is provided by a local veterinarian in Waveland, and Best
Friends’ volunteer veterinarians in Tylertown have been sufficient to meet
animal medical needs.

The WAS shelter facility was temporarily condemned after the hurricane, but
shelter personnel were eventually allowed to reopen the facility. It is not
clear whether the shelter will be again condemned and destroyed, or salvaged
and refurbished for shelter operations. The facility is 30 years old, and
has poor ventilation and insufficient space for animals and personnel.

Two animal control vehicles were lost in the hurricane.

Immediate needs:
* Maintain current rescue and triage operations
* Maintain current level of veterinary support
* Maintain current transport support to placement outside the rescue area
* Two fully equipped animal control vehicles to replace those lost in the storm

Long-term needs:
* Affordable, high-volume spay/neuter services for low-income family pets,
with the goal of achieving zero euthanasia for healthy and treatable pets
* Access to affordable general veterinary care for low-income family pets to
reduce general treatable ailments such as mange, heartworm, and fleas
* A new shelter facility with good ventilation, a proper adoption facility,
and sufficient space for animals and staff

St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
Summary:
Best Friends interviewed Ceily Trog, director of animal control for St.
Bernard Parish, as well as various personnel working there on recovery
efforts.

Trog explained that the parish is in the very early stages of recovery, and
animal control services are in limited operation. Trog lost all of her
personnel, except for one employee. The animal shelter and shelter office
were fully flooded. Trog and parish personnel are now trying to restore the
shelter to working order. No animals are currently held there. The portable
office building was damaged beyond repair.

Though there are slight contradictions regarding numbers of animals
remaining in St. Bernard Parish, all reports indicate that the need for
animal rescue in the parish has significantly diminished.

Because of the complexity and magnitude of recovery efforts in St. Bernard
Parish, the near-term fate of the parish shelter and shelter operations
remains in question. The general consensus among parish officials seems to
be that until St. Bernard is more fully habitable, shelter operations will
not be an essential need in the parish. Trog explained that the time frame
for this recovery period is not yet clear to parish officials.

Immediate needs:
* Trog will soon resign her post as animal control director, and an interim
director should be named as soon as possible to help coordinate the recovery
of parish shelter operations.
* Prior to the hurricane, the parish had considered plans for building a new
shelter. A site selection and building committee should be formed as soon as
possible to finalize site selection and building plans so that existing
Katrina funds could be set aside for subsidizing construction costs for the
parish.

Long-term needs:
* Affordable, high-volume spay/neuter services for low-income family pets,
with the goal of achieving zero euthanasia for healthy and treatable pets
* Access to affordable general veterinary care for low-income family pets to
reduce general, treatable ailments such as mange, heartworm and fleas
* A new shelter facility, sufficient to meet the pre-hurricane needs of the parish

Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Summary:
Because there has been considerable misinformation about the status of
rescue efforts in Orleans Parish, we conducted a dual assessment in this
parish:

a) Best Friends staffers interviewed local veterinarians, local rescue
agencies, and volunteer animal rescuers who have been in the area a month or
more.

b) Best Friends also participated in a multi-agency assessment, coordinated
by the Orleans Parish animal control agency, the Louisiana SPCA (LSPCA).

The extrapolated results of the LSPCA assessment indicated that
approximately 100,000 animals currently remain to be rescued in Orleans
Parish. Though local rescue agencies and volunteer rescuers generally agreed
that the LSPCA assessment was inaccurate and inconclusive, all did generally
agree that indeed thousands of displaced pets remain on the streets awaiting
rescue.

Local rescue agencies revealed that a sustained city-wide food and water
program, initiated early on by volunteer rescuers, is the primary cause for
such a high survival rate. However, interviews with local veterinarians
confirmed that animal health issues, including end-stage starvation and
related complications, remain a critical concern.

Immediate needs:
* Volunteer rescuers and rescue support personnel sufficient to support
current rescue needs
* A short-term holding facility to improve current shelter capacity and
administer veterinary and general health triage
* Subsidized veterinary support and support personnel for short-term triage
* Transport vehicles to move animals from triage to placement outside the
rescue area as part of a national adoption campaign

Long-term needs:
* Affordable, high-volume spay/neuter services for low-income family pets,
with the goal of achieving zero euthanasia for healthy and treatable pets
* Access to affordable general veterinary care for low-income family pets to
reduce general, treatable ailments such as mange, heartworm and fleas

Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
Summary:
Best Friends staffers interviewed parish health department manager Raymond
Ferrer and volunteers Patsy Hebert and Ronnie Marjerison.

Under Ferrer’s authority, Hebert and Marjerison have been managing the
parish emergency shelter operation since the second week after the
hurricane. Local veterinarian Dr. Hebert has provided ongoing veterinary
support.

The emergency shelter operation is stable and well organized, and animals
seem to be maintained in good health. Ongoing rescue operations are
maintained by volunteers and the four ACOs, and are sufficient for the need
in upper Plaquemines Parish.

However, in lower Plaquemines Parish (the southern half of the parish),
which sustained considerable damage from the hurricane, officials are not
yet clear on the status and health of displaced animals there.

The building and grounds that have been used for emergency sheltering to
date will very soon be returned to normal occupancy, and the remaining
animals will need to be relocated. Best Friends has offered to help the
health department with relocation efforts as needed.

Plaquemines Parish maintains four animal control officers and a rabies
control facility. Just prior to the hurricane, parish officials had been
reviewing the need for a new, modern shelter operation.

Immediate needs:
* Transport vehicles to move animals from triage to placement outside the
rescue area as part of a national adoption campaign
* Maintain current rescue and triage operations
* Maintain current level of veterinary support
* Deploy rescue teams to lower Plaquemines Parish

Long-term needs:
* Affordable, high-volume spay/neuter services for low-income family pets,
with the goal of achieving zero euthanasia for healthy and treatable pets
* Access to affordable general veterinary care for low-income family pets to
reduce general, treatable ailments such as mange, heartworm and fleas
* A new, modern shelter facility with public adoption area and sufficient
space for animals and staff

Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Summary:
Since the first days after the storm, Best Friends has supported the
recovery efforts of Jefferson Parish Animal Control. Director Bert Smith
continues to make sustained progress in managing recovery of the largest
animal control district in greater New Orleans. The week prior to our
assessment, the shelter had hosted an off-site adoption event, and Smith
reported that all animals were adopted, and that there were more people
wanting to adopt than there were animals available.

Smith explained that parish operations have nearly fully recovered, and the
shelters are back to fairly routine operation.

Smith feels that the agencies across the disaster area should strive for
more than just a return to normal operation, and that the disaster should
now be considered an opportunity to make significant gains in reducing pet
overpopulation.

Immediate and long-term needs:
* Affordable, high-volume spay/neuter services for low-income family pets,
with the goal of achieving zero euthanasia for healthy and treatable pets
* Access to affordable general veterinary care for low-income family pets to
reduce general, treatable ailments such as mange, heartworm and fleas

Other Louisiana Parishes
We plan to continue assessing the disaster region, and will include other
Louisiana parishes in our next report.

Conclusions
Volunteer help: There are immediate and urgent needs to increase volunteer
efforts and subsidized vet care in Harrison County, Mississippi, and Orleans
Parish, Louisiana, to rescue the estimated thousands of remaining displaced
pets. These volunteer efforts should be coordinated through local shelters
and/or local rescue agencies.

Adoption support: We propose a national adoption and foster campaign,
managed and supported jointly by the major humane organizations, to place
all animals rescued and as yet unclaimed by their families.

Funding support: Many agencies expressed frustration that while they have
continued rescue and recovery efforts, they have not had the time to raise
adequate funds for the work that remains. They ask that any remaining funds
raised to-date to help the victims of Katrina be fully invested in the
ongoing rescue operations and eventual rebuilding efforts.

Building for the future: We agree with Jefferson Parish ACO Bert Smith that
“the disaster should now be considered an opportunity to make significant
gains in reducing pet overpopulation.”

And we are inspired by Mayor Nagin’s plan to rebuild a better New Orleans.
We can work together to “build it back better” throughout the region for the
animals, too.

Funds raised and not yet spent: We estimate that more than 50 million
dollars have been donated to the major national humane organizations
specifically to help the animals of the Gulf Coast region, and that tens of
millions of those dollars still remain unspent.

We urge that these funds be directed toward:
* the immediate needs of the animals and organizations caring for them
* the long-term needs of rebuilding animal care for the region

Proposals for long-term rebuilding
We propose that the longer term plan, to be funded by the national humane
organizations, include:

* Low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter facilities
* Neighborhood sheltering and adoption capabilities
* Affordable and accessible health care for pets of low-income families
* Model legislation to bring a complete end to dog fighting and related
animal abuse, along with education programs to address the causes of animal
abuse and pet overpopulation

================================================================

BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY PRESS RELEASE

Contact for more information:
Barbara Williamson
435-644-2001, ext. 252, 435-689-0200 (cell) or barbara [at] bestfriends.org

Elissa Jones
435-644-3965, ext. 4289 or elissa [at] bestfriends.org

HURRICANE KATRINA:
Campaign urges national animal organizations to spend the millions raised to
help family pets, as intended Thousands of needy pets awaiting rescue still
roam New Orleans and the Gulf Coast

KANAB, UT (11/23/05) - Three months after Hurricane Katrina, thousands of
homeless pets still cling to life on the streets, waiting to be rescued,
according to an assessment revealed by Best Friends Animal Society today.

The organization, which runs the nation's largest companion animal
sanctuary, is launching a petition drive on behalf of these pets and their
displaced families.

"Compassionate citizens have already given their money to this cause. Now
we're asking them to give their voices, too, by signing a petition to ensure
that these dogs and cats in the Gulf Coast region are not abandoned and that
donated money be spent for what it was intended," said Paul Berry, Best
Friends' director of operations.

Most national organizations suspended rescue operations over a month ago.
But three months after the hurricane, independent rescuers report that
thousands of displaced pets, belonging to people who have lost their homes,
are still clinging to life, and that their situation is critical. Many of
these pets are in destroyed and abandoned areas where food sources such as
garbage cans are not available, and many of the structures these pets are
using for shelter will soon be bulldozed.

"We've been working on the frontlines of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts
since late August, and have not given up," said Berry. "Our emergency rescue
shelter outside of New Orleans still has up to 600 animals on any given day
and brings in up to 40 animals a day from volunteer rescuers who continue to
work in the field."

Berry said the Best Friends assessment, which was conducted last week, has
confirmed some urgent and disturbing facts about the ongoing need for rescue
efforts. The report (http://www.bestfriends.org) cites interviews with local animal
control officials, veterinarians, rescue agencies, and volunteers across the
region.

"People all over the country donated tens of millions of dollars to rescue
these animals," said Berry. "All it takes now is a commitment from the
animal welfare organizations to finish the job they undertook."

That commitment includes:
* Providing volunteers to continue rescuing displaced pets still alive on
the streets, encouraging volunteers to continue rescuing pets still alive on
the streets, and providing staging areas to get them to safety
* Conducting a national adoption drive for all pets not reclaimed by their families

"Working together, we can do better than simply allowing these pets who have
clung to life for so long to become the next generation of strays who will
reproduce and ultimately be euthanized," said Berry.

Best Friends is asking everyone who donated money to the rescue effort to
sign a petition urging national animal welfare organizations to continue the
rescue work as long as these traumatized family pets are still alive.

"We are inspired by Mayor Nagin's plan to rebuild a better New Orleans,"
said Berry, who is a native New Orleanian. "If funds remain after the rescue
efforts are complete, they should be used to build a better New Orleans for
companion animals. Once the remaining pets are safe, we can join together to
invest in programs that will radically improve the quality of life for
animals in the Gulf Coast region."

These programs would include:
* Low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter facilities
* Neighborhood no-kill sheltering and adoption capabilities
* Affordable health care for pets of low-income families
* Model legislation to end dog fighting and related animal abuse

"This was an unprecedented tragedy for people and their pets," said Berry.
"But for local humane groups, once the rescue efforts are complete it can
now be a unique opportunity to create a new reality for companion animals.

"So many people have given their time, effort, and money to the cause. Now
they all need to add their voice to how the remaining money should be spent.
That's why we're launching a petition drive to support this vision for the
animals."

For a copy of the report and to join the petition drive, please go to
http://www.bestfriends.org.

###

About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends Animal Society is working with shelters and rescue groups
nationwide to bring about a time when there will be no more homeless pets.
Best Friends operates the nation's largest sanctuary for homeless animals,
provides adoption, spay/neuter, and educational programs, and publishes Best
Friends, the nation's largest general-interest animal magazine.
"A better world through kindness to animals"