We asked our animal experts how to keep pets safe in the event of a disaster. They gave us this advice:
Plan for an emergency
- Follow Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) advice on planning for a disaster.
- Make sure your emergency planning kit includes supplies for your pet, such as spare pet food, a leash, a blanket and a carrier box.
- Ensure your animal is microchipped, registered (if a dog) and ideally also wearing identification on their collar. If you get separated, this is the best possible chance they have for reuniting with you.
- If you are required to evacuate, taking confined pets with you is the best option. Many evacuation centres will be unable to accept animals, but they can be diverted to animal shelters, and are much easier to track and relocate if they arrive with their owner.
- If you are unable to take your animal with you, CDEM recommends releasing penned animals.
- If you do need to leave an animal behind, notify Auckland Council animal management which will make every effort to take care of your animals while you are unable to.
After an emergency
If you see pets wandering around having misplaced their families, or having been left behind in an evacuation, don’t put yourself in danger. Stressed animals may react unpredictably, so contact the council’s animal management team if in doubt. If the animal seems friendly and allows it, try to bring it to an animal shelter so it can be reunited with its family.
Auckland Council animal management assists with many aspects of post-emergency response. For example, after the 2012 Hobsonville Tornado, Henderson animal management staff spent many weeks making special trips to evacuated areas, feeding strays, feeding animals known to be stuck in houses, trying to catch loose animals and caring for any animals that had been separated from their families. They cared for hundreds of dogs and cats until the families were able to collect them and return home.
The most important aspect was being able to identify animals’ owners, by microchipping and registration.
Animal management works in close collaboration with Auckland Civil Defence and other organisations during an emergency, and provides all possible care to return animals safely to their owners
