Japan is a nation of pet lovers and many families affected have lost animals, been forced to leave them behind or have taken them to evacuation centres where there is limited space, food and water.
Local vets and animal organisations have been doing their best in an incredibly tough situation but we need to act now to make sure they continue to get the support they need to care for these animals.
We have just launched an appeal and co-ordinated effort for the post-disaster care of Japan’s animals. WSPA aims to raise $150,000 for Japanese animals to help cover the critical recovery period in the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami.
Funds will be mainly directed towards the set up of 30 temporary shelters for pets via the Animal Disaster Response Team (ADRT), a coalition of local animal groups, including WSPA’s local member society, Japan Animal Welfare Society (JAWS). Food and water needs are being directly co-ordinated by the ADRT.
A WSPA team entered Japan just four days after the earthquake and tsunami to assess the potential need for animals. The sheer size of the area affected and the destruction of the transport infrastructure, plus many initial aftershocks made it a lengthy assessment.
The Disaster Assessment Needs Analysis (DANA) estimates that between 16,000 and 19,000 pets are affected in two of the worst hit regions alone. Countless other animals and livestock had to be abandoned in the exclusion zone around the Fukushima nuclear power station after immediate orders to evacuate.
The DANA points out that most owners took their pets to the evacuation centres, where they have remained since. However, pets which were not evacuated are thought to have died in the tsunami, as there are few lost or abandoned animals reported to date.
Approximately 350,000 people were staying in evacuation centres during the DANA and it is estimated that between 7-10% of evacuees have animals with them. The assessment estimates that, in total, potentially over 30,000 animals are in need of emergency shelter.
We hope to establish 30 temporary animal shelters near human evacuation centres so families can continue to visit and help care for their pets, and to help ADRT to support local vets so that they can continue to provide veterinary care and treatment to animals injured in the tsunami.
