Introduction

The professional collaboration between Dr. Fern Van Sant of For the Birds and Dr. Julie Burge, an avian veterinarian practicing in the greater Kansas City area, commenced with their volunteer efforts to save birds rescued from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Part 1 of the following article, written by Dr. Burge, discusses the sheer magnitude of the catastrophe and the difficulties of organizing a coherent response. Part 2 of the article, written by Dr. Van Sant, discusses the organizations involved in animal disaster recovery and their organizational roles in such operations. The combined experiences of these two veterinarians during this time have resulted in this article which conveys their professional judgments about how to better respond to the inevitable next disaster.

Part 1. Avian Rescue Following Katrina

I. Katrina Facts

Hurricane Katrina will be remembered as one of the most devastating hurricanes to ever hit the United States. A major - and historic - historic American city was almost totally destroyed and will never be the same. The nearly thirty foot storm surge caused catastrophic damage along the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Multiple failures of flood-walls and levees separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans ultimately led to the flooding of approximately 80percent of the city at depths up to 20 feet.

Katrina is estimated to be responsible for $75 billion in damages, making it – financially - the costliest hurricane in United States history. As of March 30, 2006, the confirmed death toll was 1,604, making Katrina the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. With more 2,000 people still unaccounted for as of August, 2006,, the death toll may be higher by the time of this reading. More than one million people were under an evacuation order before landfall. An estimated 1.1 million people were displaced by the hurricane.

Although there was criticism about the slow response by various levels of government, search and rescue operations under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grew to include more than 3,000 urban search and rescue personnel in 51 task forces, eight swift water teams, and 108 incident support team command staff. The teams helped 6,582 people reach safety in the hours and days immediately after Hurricane Katrina. Teams later searched 22,313 structures in New Orleans, and more in other Louisiana parishes to search for those still trapped. Later in the operations, some of the teams also supported animal rescue personnel, helping to locate and extract hundreds of pets left behind by evacuating residents. Various sources estimated the total number of pets left behind from 50,000 to 250,000. Many people were able to evacuate their pets with them, and many pets left behind were safe when the owners were able to return quickly in areas that were not flooded. Unfortunately, most shelters, buses, boats and helicopters did not allow evacuating residents to bring their animals, forcing some to make a difficult choice.

Some were critical of the owners who left their animals when they evacuated prior to the storm, but many people had no choice. There were people who did not own a car, and when they found someone with a car who would take them, they were not allowed to bring their pets. Fitting all of the human members of the family into a car may have made it impossible to find room for pet carriers. Many others had evacuated repeatedly (10 times in 7 years) for past hurricanes and nothing happened; their pets were fine and their homes undamaged when the storm weakened or changed direction.

Finally, those who were rescued after the storm were not allowed to take their animals on buses, boats or helicopters, and some were forced at gunpoint to leave their non-human friends behind in the floods, or in the Superdome. It is believed that a large number of people who died in Katrina had stayed behind because they would not leave their beloved pets. Breeding facilities, kennels, pet stores and veterinary clinics were particularly difficult to evacuate, and only those who had made plans in advance were able to save all of their animals. Many members may have read Dr. Greg Rich’s evacuation story in the AAV Clinical Forum: February – April 2006 issue. Other clinics were not evacuated, and rescuers reported on one clinic full of decomposing animals they searched hoping to find any still alive.

Most of the 10,000 fish at the New Orleans Aquarium of the Americas died because the backup power ran out after four days. Most of the marine mammals and a large sea turtle survived. The Audubon Zoo lost only three animals out of a total of 1,400 due to good disaster planning and location on high ground. Zoo curator Dan Maloney was quoted as saying, "The zoo had planned for years for the catastrophic storm that has long been predicted for New Orleans."

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita harmed hundreds of horses, thousands of cattle and millions of chickens. According to Sept. 19, 2005, estimates from the Department of Agriculture, winds and flooding from Katrina killed 10,000 cattle in Louisiana. Mississippi lost six million chickens and Alabama lost 200,000 chickens. According to Oct. 18, 2005, estimates from the USDA, flooding after Rita caused the loss of 4,000 cattle in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Excessive heat and lack of electricity for fans devastated poultry producers. Producer losses on milk sales might have amounted to $400,000 per week. In Louisiana, fish and shellfish losses totaled $80 million.

Louisiana is home to many colonial nesting birds including pelicans, herons and egrets. Among those that survived, many had broken wings or damaged legs from the winds of Katrina and Rita. The carcasses of deer, muskrat, otter, alligators and other terrestrial wildlife dotted the landscape because they could not escape the tidal surge. Freshwater fish were floating dead within many of the waterways because of saltwater intrusion or oxygen depletion. The coastal bottomland hardwoods offer some of the last food and rest available to migratory waterfowl and neotropical songbirds prior to their flights across the Gulf of Mexico.

The effects of the saltwater surge and high winds on these forests are just now becoming apparent. Some trees will not be able to survive the increased salinities. Oxygen will continue to decline within local waters as the plant material in these waters decays. Other wildlife will also suffer because much of their habitat on which they were dependent for their daily needs has been destroyed by salt water or coated with toxic materials including gas and oil. Louisiana's coast has also pushed farther inland decreasing the amount of marshlands. Katrina was an enormous threat to the survival of a severely endangered species, the Mississippi sandhill crane. Scarcely more than 100 remain in the wild although most are believed to have weathered the storm okay.

II. Numbers of Animals Rescued

The animal rescue operation following Katrina was the largest in history, but the exact number of rescued animals is impossible to determine, although some totals are given at various web sites. The number of rescues is estimated at anywhere between 9,000 and 20,000. The sheer number in need caught even the most experienced rescue organizations unprepared to deal with the logistics and required record keeping.

Within days of Katrina, the web sitePetfinder.com established the Animal Emergency Response Network (AERN), an online database for lost, left, and found pet reports. AERN was held up as an example of multi-agency cooperation, including Maddie’s Fund, HSUS, ASPCA, AHA, Pets911, Best Friends Animal Society, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, and United Animal Nations (EARS) (Links to many of these organizations and web sites are listed later in this article). Owners could post information on where animals had been left so rescuers could direct their efforts in the early stages to known locations rather than random searches of every home in the area. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) established call centers for those without internet access who wished to make rescue requests.

Statistics from Petfinder.com in October, 2005. say that more than 17,000 found and temporarily sheltered pets were posted. Individuals entered more than 22,000 rescue requests. Many of the postings on Petfinder were duplicates. An unknown number of animals were not posted on Petfinder, either because owners claimed the animals shortly after they were rescued, or because the individual or group chose not to post them. Owners returned home to find their pets and cages missing, but the animals could never be found in online searches. There were approximately 350 "found bird" listings posted on Petfinder as of December 19, 2005, some of which included more than one bird. The listings, by species, included 104 Cockatiels, 69 Budgerigars, 83 parrots (three African Greys, 16 Amazons, nine Cockatoos, 11 Conures, 20 Lovebirds, six Macaws, three Psittacula, two Parrotlets, four Poicephalus, and nine "unspecified"), one Canary, four Pigeons, four Doves, nine Finches (multiple birds in most listings), 23 Chickens, 20 Ducks, 15 Geese, two Crows, one Emu, one Hawk and one Peafowl.

Hundreds of unaffiliated volunteers came from all over North America to the Gulf Coast, some of whom never notified anyone that the pets they saved had been rescued. There have been reports on individuals' web sites. and blogs, and letters emailed directly to this author (Burge), from rescuers working at various triage centers and shelters who witnessed animals being stolen. One person stated that a van from "some avian rescue organization” stopped by one of the triage centers daily to pick up any birds that had been found, and these animals were never posted to Petfinder. As one example, a photo taken by this author on September 10, 2005, at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center shows a Green Wing Macaw that was not present on September 12 when Dr. Van Sant was there. The Lamar records show one Macaw listed as “missing.”

A. Temporary Shelters

The Lamar Dixon Expo Center, normally used as a horse show facility, became what many believe to be the largest animal rescue and sheltering operation in our nation's history. At Lamar-Dixon alone, rescuers saved 6,036 animals from New Orleans and surrounding areas, and returned 500 of them to their owners from the compound in Gonzales. Another 2,385 animals were rescued in Mississippi, and of that number, 126 were returned directly to their owners.

This author (Burge) went to Lamar Dixon on September 10 with two large medical bags of supplies and equipment, and was initially given permission to work on the birds by a veterinarian presumed to be the head of one of the VMAT teams. The cages were stacked on top of one another on the dirt floor of an outdoor horse stall. The paperwork accompanying each cage was placed on top of the cage, and as might have been expected, some of the birds had chewed on and destroyed the only records of where they had been found. One technician working with the exotics welcomed me, saying she was very happy to see a veterinarian with bird experience, and wanted me to trim wings on all of the birds after one Cockatoo had opened his own cage and escaped.

One Amazon with swollen facial skin and a distended abdomen was obviously sick. We began to discuss how we would manage to examine the birds safely in an unenclosed facility, when another technician appeared and immediately began questioning me. When I explained that we wanted to trim the wings for the safety of the birds, and I needed to examine the sick Amazon, she replied that we didn’t have the owners’ permission to trim them, that the Amazon was getting fluids, and then hurriedly said something to the VMAT doctor that resulted in my expulsion from the facility. According to unverified reports, other veterinarians were turned away at Lamar Dixon. Dr. Fern Van Sant was also nearly expelled from the facility.

The Louisiana State University Parker Coliseum served as a temporary shelter with the vast majority of animals having been relinquished by their owners as they evacuated prior to the hurricane. Only a small number of animals with unknown owners were cared for at this shelter, bringing the total to more than a thousand animal evacuees at peak population.

At the request of Dr. Tom Tully, head of avian and exotic medicine at LSU, this author (Burge) visited the shelter on September 11, 2005. Volunteers and the director of the facility, who seemed ecstatic that someone with avian experience was there to attend to the needs of the birds, greeted me warmly. Veterinarians, technicians, and veterinary students from the college and other volunteers staffed the shelter, but when one veterinarian who had been assigned to care for all of the exotics in addition to many of the dogs and cats met me, she was happy to turn over the bird care to me. She stated that she had not even had time to examine the rabbits, guinea pigs, and other exotic pets that were there.

There were some similarities in the housing situation for the birds at LSU compared to those at Lamar Dixon. They were housed in outdoor horse stalls, but here the cages were placed on folding tables, with no stacked cages, and the paperwork was safely positioned so it would not be destroyed. Mosquito netting had been stapled around the stalls to prevent escape, and all of the food and supplies were organized on more folding tables. On visual exam, all of the birds appeared to be alert and active, and I made a few recommendations about the placement of dishes and perches. A group of 50 exotic finches had been brought in the previous night and were placed in a room that normally served as a custodial storage area, rather than in the barn, to provide a more stable environment. The person who had rescued them stated that over half of the original flock was found dead. Most of the birds at LSU that had not yet been claimed by their owners were later transferred to 911ParrotAlert, described below.

Other large shelters were established by animal rescue groups in Louisiana and Mississippi. The Humane Society of Louisiana based out of "Camp Katrina" in Tylertown, Mississippi, rescued, provided veterinary care and sheltered more than 700 animals. A month before Katrina, they had purchased the land specifically as a future evacuation location. There was no building, but a tent city became a shelter and veterinary hospital. Noah’s Wish cared for more than 1,800 animals at their temporary facility in Slidell, LA, including more than 900 dogs, 800 cats, 12 birds, 12 rabbits, 8 chickens, 7 ducks, 3 each of geese, lizards, squirrels and snakes, 2 each of horses, mice, and pot belly pigs, a pea hen, flying squirrel, emu, scorpion, tarantula, ferret, fish and a rat. Best Friends rescued about 4,000 of the estimated 16,000 animals rescued by the combined efforts of humane groups across the country. They set up a shelter in Tylertown Mississippi.

A New Orleans Winn Dixie grocery store parking lot became something of a MASH unit for rescuers who would spend their daylight hours combing the streets and breaking into homes to save animals, and was without veterinary support for at least the first month. MuttShack, an in-home shelter and fostering 501(c) (3) that began operations in April, 2005, set up a triage center in the flood ravaged Lake Castle School formerly occupied by the Ohio National Guard. Classrooms, filled with layers of mud, moldy books and fallen ceiling boards were used as an emergency rescue and treatment center. The gymnasium served as a makeshift kennel where rows and rows of crates lined the walls.

B. Housing for Parrots

911ParrotAlert is an online group dedicated to posting lost and found pet bird reports from all over the world in order to help reunite birds with their owners. Donna Powell, founder of the group in Baton Rouge, LA, became involved in the bird rescue operation before Katrina hit when a New Orleans breeder evacuated his 58 parrots to the safety of her home.

After the flooding, frantic owners called and emailed her for help getting their pets out of the homes where they had been left. Donna and her son Neil made trips into the city almost daily; talking their way through roads blocked by armed guards, and managed to save numerous pets before they would die of starvation or dehydration. Rescuers and volunteers from around the country soon joined them, sleeping on floors, in tents, or in their cars after the sofas and spare beds were filled. Donated food, cages, and supplies started arriving as word spread across the internet that birds were being rescued and brought to the house. Eventually, two large tents were erected in the back yard to hold the excess nonperishable goods, while dozens of bags of food were stacked in the living room.

Prior to Hurricane Rita in late September, which affected many of the same areas decimated by Katrina, Lamar Dixon officials evacuated as many animals as possible, including the 140 birds sheltered there. They only allowed recognized 501(c) (3) non-profit organizations to take animals. Phoenix Landing Foundation, a Washington DC area avian rescue group represented by several volunteers, went to Baton Rouge after calls for assistance went out over the 911ParrotAlert group list. Under Phoenix Landing’s authority, five rabbits and 47 birds were signed out from Lamar Dixon. These were taken to Powell’s house to join the 76 birds transferred from LSU earlier, as well as the birds rescued by volunteers and brought to the house, bringing the total to 325 birds housed there at one point. As discussed in Part II below, one family opened their private home to 66 birds from Lamar Dixon. These volunteer homes generally provided better care than the birds received in other shelters.

However, managing large numbers of birds indoors, in a crisis condition, without customary veterinary facilities, is extremely difficult. Furniture had to be moved, keeping drapes and carpeting clean was impractical, and lighting and air quality were not optimal for housing large numbers of birds from multiple sources. Preferably, an empty commercial space with several rooms, such as a space in a strip mall, zoned for a pet store or veterinary clinic, would be leased to house birds in a similar emergency, instead of relying on private residences which may not be suitable for housing large numbers of rescued animals.

C. Managing Sheltered Birds in Baton Rouge

Housing birds in Donna Powell’s home that had come from approximately 90 other homes created a risk for the spread of Chlamydophila, Polyomavirus, PBFD, and other pathogens. Considering that a veterinarian never sees the vast majority of pet birds, contagious disease was a major concern, but it was not possible to implement any effective quarantine in a four-bedroom suburban home. The best that could be done was to place any birds with visible signs of disease into one of the spare bedrooms. Windows were opened as much as possible to increase ventilation, instant hand sanitizer was used constantly, and cages were cleaned frequently to prevent aerosolization of dried feces. Fortunately, environmental swabs using DNA PCR testing revealed only one positive result, Polyomavirus in one lovebird. Miraculously, there were no outbreaks of infectious disease.

Five different veterinarians visited 911ParrotAlert during the first month following Katrina, and each had their own preferred medical protocol. One wanted to put most of the birds on Doxycycline in the water, another Baytril. A third found Giardia in most of the cockatiels and some budgies, moved them all into one room and put them on Flagyl in the water, while a fourth had them separated by species. It was later apparent that a standardized protocol would have been useful so that everyone would follow the same guidelines.

Maintaining adequate identification of the rescues became problematic. Most of the birds had been removed from their original cages, many of which were deemed too small or rusted, and were placed into larger donated cages. As they were moved from one cage to another or one room to another, the rescuers lost track of which unmarked birds had come from which home, and tags that had been put on many of the cages were sometimes lost. When multiple birds were caged together, they were sometimes separated and the new cages were not labeled.

In a few cases, someone would decide that a single bird was lonely, and would put it together with a single bird from a different source. In retrospect, a photograph should have been taken of each bird in the original cage to make identification easier for the owner. Supervision and training should have been in place to ensure that all volunteers were aware that ID tags were extremely important, and that birds were not to be indiscriminately moved.

Due to the constant turnover of personnel (approximately 50 different people helped at 911ParrotAlert during the first two months), there was little continuity of care. Cages with multiple birds needed multiple food and water dishes, despite the fact that it created more work. Someone had declared that every dish had to be removed and disinfected every day, and an adequate number of dishes were not always put back into the cages. Inexperienced volunteers sometimes gave the wrong food, and one dove nearly starved when it was given pellets that had come in with a pigeon in the next cage.

Medications were not always administered as directed when a new volunteer was unaware of the instructions. Medical records were only sporadically kept, and were sometimes lost. Training and written instructions may have prevented a number of errors in management.

The problems encountered provide a roadmap for improved response by the avian community in the likelihood of similar catastrophic events in the future.

Part 2. The Anatomy of the Disaster Response for Animals After Katrina

“This is going to be more involved than just checks and prayers”
~ Mark Mitchell LSU

I. Overview

As our populations grow in size and complexity, and as humans continue to modify the environment in ways that increase the potential size and scope of natural disasters, we find that the unthinkable can, does and will happen. An inordinate amount of emergency planning goes on at every level of our society from the federal government down through state, county, non-governmental organizations (NGO)to businesses and families. Regions that have experienced natural or 9/11-scale disasters in the last 5-10 years typically have more coherent plans that have been field tested and modified by experience. The "IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE" approach appears to have been field tested in New Orleans and found to be painfully inadequate.

II. The Infrastructure of Planned Disaster Response for Animals

The following description of the many tiered disaster response agencies is intended to give veterinarians a glimpse of the machine that kicks in during large scale emergencies. An understanding of the system is essential to effective participation. Any emergency response starts at the local level. Practicing veterinarians should be aware of their local Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP). Assistance at the state level for animal emergencies is provided and administered by the State Veterinary Office (SVO or SV). Many veterinarians in affected areas were unaware of who to call for help or how to get help once communication became difficult.

If our goal becomes more effective rescue for birds after disasters, implementation can occur at any level, local to federal. Protocols can be developed by avian veterinarians to assist first responders with birds. The AVMA would welcome AAV participation. Understanding the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS) are vital to participation.

A. Local Response

As called for in parish and county emergency response plans, local veterinary organizations, local humane groups, animal control agencies, employees of AgCenter Extension of LSU, and local USDA personnel were called upon to assist with evacuation orders. Animal Control (AC) and the Louisiana SPCA (LA-SPCA) were evacuated. Some veterinarians, including Greg Rich, arranged for evacuations of their clinics. Shelters for pets of evacuees were set up in Northern Louisiana, usually close to Red Cross shelters. United Animal Nations/Emergency Animal Rescue Service (UAN/EARS) set up a shelter in Monroe. Veterinarians in Shreveport and Alexandria and later in Lafayette, New Iberia and Lake Charles offered space in their clinics.

Planning is the key to early effective proactive disaster response. As in Louisiana, state OEP, under the direction of the state veterinarian, have well-developed plans. Lack of participation and poor understanding of the plan left many veterinarians and pet owners feeling lost and helpless. New emphasis is currently on preparation and planning by pet owners who must assume the burden of responsibility. The system did work in Louisiana but those who failed to plan and participate were left behind. Some failed to acknowledge the risk the storm presented and stayed behind or left their pets expecting to quickly return. The numbers of animals left behind was clearly influenced by a large stray animal population.

B. State Response

Most states have strategic disaster plans. Louisiana had just revised its plan (2005) and Mississippi was in the process of rewriting when Katrina hit. As discussed in Part I of this article, the scope of this disaster, coupled with policies against taking pets when evacuation, created the largest animal disaster in U.S. history. In response, an unprecedented animal rescue effort was launched in concert with the emergency rescue and recovery effort for area residents.

All state emergency plans call for a chain of events to occur if local first responders are overwhelmed or likely to be overwhelmed by catastrophic events. When resources were exhausted by local parish agencies assistance through the State Veterinarian was requested. This activated the State Animal Response Teams (SART). Incident Action Plans call for the state veterinarian to oversee and coordinate emergency response. Louisiana emergency plans called for zoos, aquariums, the School of Veterinary Medicine, and Animal Control and Humane Associations to develop their own emergency sheltering plans. Many professional accreditation associations also require the development of such plans.

During the Katrina response, once all resources were activated, the State Veterinary Office acted as the lead agency coordinating USDA/APHIS Veterinary Service and all responding national humane organizations under one incident command. Once assistance was requested by the state, national NGOs ready and willing to respond solicited invitations to the SVO. Acceptance resulted in assignment of a duty and a tracking number. Many national humane organizations responded and are listed below.

When state resources are inadequate, federal assistance is summoned by activating the National Disaster Medical System which includes Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams (VMAT) from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). These agencies currently under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FEMA but their assignments are under the direction of the SV or AVIC even though they do not participate in the IC.

C. Federal Response

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
USDA is charged with supporting agriculture to ensure a safe and abundant supply of food. USDA promotes agriculture, protects forests and agricultural lands, supports rural development, and steps in with disaster relief when needed. USDA assists with logistics and financial aid for farmers and ranchers. It assists with cleanup and rebuilding in agricultural areas as well as in affected forests. USDA personnel participated in evacuations, managed shelters, supplied food water and ice and established local assistance centers to expedite emergency assistance and loans to food producers and rural residents.

APHIS provided nearly 50 veterinarians and wildlife specialists that participated in Katrina rescue and recovery. Over 10,000 animals were rescued, sheltered and provided with veterinary care in part by APHIS. APHIS funding provided additional veterinarians to assist in both Louisiana and Mississippi. APHIS veterinarians participate in any large scale emergency response for animals to assess and prevent infectious disease outbreaks.

Under the Incident Command System, the system currently used to manage large scale emergencies that coordinate many responding agencies, the two incident commanders were Dr. Maxwell "Mack" Lea the State Veterinarian, and the Area Veterinarian in Charge Dr. Joel Goldman. USDA designates states or groups of states into Emergency Areas and the AVIC assumes IC with the SV.

USDA veterinarians assumed many roles after Katrina, rescuing valuable cell lines and countless lab animals. These rescues required full protective gear and countless trips up and down dark hot stairways. USDA veterinarians also coordinated military assisted delivery of food and water to stranded cattle. There are no reports of USDA or APHIS responding to any issues regarding pet birds.

US Public Health Service (PHS) an agency of Health and Human Services (HSS)
The mission of PHS is to provide highly trained and mobile health professionals. They are one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. There are both human and veterinary divisions. This organization has historically played an important role in hurricane emergency response with deployments to Florida in 2004. Uniformed veterinary medical and medical professionals were deployed to the Gulf Coast after Katrina. The veterinary Corps played a key role in response to the unprecedented need for animal rescue in Louisiana and Mississippi.

There are no reported instances of PHS veterinarians responding to any bird related problems at Lamar Dixon. The service was very active in enforcing public health laws at the huge shelter ensuring safety for the animals as well as the attending staff and countless volunteers.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
FEMA is currently part of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Prior to the change in 2003, FEMA functioned as an independent agency. The organization’s mission is to lead the national effort to prepare for all natural disasters and acts of terrorism. In cases of imminent predictable events like hurricanes, FEMA is expected to proactively assemble essential resources for local emergency response, and to manage federal response and recovery efforts. Where local capabilities are overwhelmed, FEMA steps in to provide first response in the form of medical teams, rescue personnel, emergency water and food but this response can take at least a week. FEMA is further charged with the coordination of the other 27 federal agencies and the American Red Cross. After Katrina, FEMA orchestrated the efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, Health and Human Services, the Defense Department, the National Guard and the Agriculture Department.

Although there are no reports of FEMA directly responding to pet bird events after Katrina, the American Red Cross animal emergency preparedness handouts do mention pet birds and call for them to be confined to a cage and covered for their safety.

D. Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO) Disaster Response for Animals

1. Humane/Rescue Organizations

Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 501(c)(3)
As the primary local animal rescue agency in the New Orleans area, LA/ASPCA was charged with primary response and planning. LA/SPCA was able to evacuate all shelter animals before the storm, most to other area shelters in Houston, Baton Rouge and Jackson, Mississippi. The New Orleans facility was totally destroyed in the storm including its full service veterinary clinic. LA/SPCA has since rebuilt its facility by adapting an existing warehouse into a functional shelter. The effort was funded in part by grants from many of the humane organizations participating in Katrina relief. LA/SPCA was responsible for coordinating the efforts of all responding agencies and assisting the state with the regional assignments of responding agencies.

Humane Society of the United States 501(c)(3)
HSUS is a large, well-funded animal advocacy organization. With assets estimated at over $113 million, HSUS does most its non-disaster work in state and federal courts. HSUS supports an active and effective program of litigation and information aimed at expanding animal protection laws. Although HSUS does not operate any shelters or animal clinics, it has developed formal agreements with FEMA and the American Red Cross to provide emergency shelters in the case of large scale disasters. HSUS has historically provided emergency animal shelter after particularly severe hurricanes beginning with Hurricane Andrew in 1991. HSUS was the lead organization at Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, Louisiana, although a shared leadership developed with all the participating humane organizations. HSUS has spent over $20 million in its efforts to rescue, shelter, provide veterinary care, reunite and rebuild. These funds include direct grants to local humane organizations, animal control agencies, and rescue groups that participated in the Katrina effort. HSUS received an unprecedented number of donations for Katrina relief.

At Lamar Dixon evacuated and rescued birds were sheltered in three designated stalls. Cages were divided among the stalls and often stacked three deep. Species or animal descriptions were minimal and often incorrect. Address of owner evacuee or location of rescue may or may not have been recorded. Shelter paper work was inadequately attached to cages and was easily lost or shredded by birds. There is no official count of birds housed at Lamar Dixon. Theft was an acknowledged problem. In the days immediately preceding Hurricane Rita, all birds were exported out of Lamar Dixon.

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) 501(c)(3)
Located in New York City, the 140 year-old organization is dedicated to animal protection. Until 1995, the organization furnished animal control services for New York City. Since that time the focus of the organization has returned to animal welfare and education. ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement agents investigate cruelty, neglect and abandonment. Adoption and neutering services are provided. ASPCA runs Bergh Memorial Hospital in New York and the Animal Poison Control Center in Urbana, IL. The organization provides direct support to shelters, provides continuing education for shelter veterinarians and actively promotes animal-friendly legislation. ASPCA has joined with United Animal Nation’s (UAN) to provide updated emergency response training to professionals, rescue organizations and pet owners through UAN’s Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS).

The ASPCA was assigned to the task of animal identification/labeling, animal tracking and animal export at Lamar Dixon. These assignments were made as the Unified Command System developed. By this time several protocols of paperwork had been used. As Hurricane Rita approached, efforts to transfer animals out of Lamar Dixon were rapidly escalated. Non-profit status was required of fostering organizations. Some of the birds (47) were released through regular channels to Phoenix Landing. Most of the larger birds (66) were safely relocated to a private residence but skipped the official export process. The ASPCA provided a leadership role during reunification providing financial incentives and grants for animal care. Significant resources were devoted to birds.

The ASPCA has dispersed nearly $8 million in Katrina recovery grants. Over $2.5 million was spent on rescue, re-homing and reunification and over $5.5 million on recovery and rebuilding. 911ParrotAlert received ASPCA grants.

American Humane Association 501(c)(3)
American Humane is an advocacy group for animals and children. AH promotes adoption, spay and neutering programs, shelter advocacy and funding, farm animal protection and disaster services. AH works in cooperation with local and national organizations in support of its animal welfare goals. AH’s Animal Emergency Services provides expertise and resources to local agencies facing catastrophic events. This service is sponsored in part by Petco, Animal Planet and Pedigree. AH hosted a National Emergency Management Summit to review the Katrina response and promote improved coordination with the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS).

American Humane was charged with field operations under the Unified Command at Lamar Dixon. AH has committed about $300,000 in grants through its Second Chance Fund for recovery and rebuilding in the wake of Katrina.

United Animal Nation (UAN) 501(c)(3)Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS)
UAN was founded in 1987. It is North America’s leading provider of emergency animal sheltering and disaster relief services and a key advocate for the critical needs of animals. UAN assists animals by helping to prevent, mitigate and resolve crises. UAN operates several programs, including the volunteer-based EARS, which shelters and cares for animals displaced during disasters across the United States and Canada. With 2,500 EARS volunteers, UAN can respond within 24 hours to natural or human-caused disasters that may put animals at risk.

UAN responded early to the Katrina disaster when on August 31, at the request of the State of Louisiana Office of Emergency Services, they assisted in the evacuation of 175 animals from a Metairie animal hospital. They deployed 435 volunteers to six locations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. UAN operated pre-storm evacuation shelters in Monroe, LA and Jackson, MS. These owned animal shelters allowed evacuees to have their animals nearby. In these shelters owners provided the daily care for their pets. At another shelter in Monroe, LA, UAN volunteers sheltered 230 animals rescued from New Orleans. In Chalmette, LA UAN assisted in the rescue of more than 600 animals which were then transported to existing shelters. In addition to UAN’s on site sheltering and emergency response which is provided at no charge, they have distributed grants for recovery efforts exceeding $255,000 to organizations directly impacted by the hurricanes. In both their shelter protocols and training seminars, disaster response, and rescue of companion birds is addressed.

In 2006, UAN and ASPCA formed a Community Animal Disaster Preparedness Partnership which will visit 15 communities and aims to educate, organize, train and credential animal rescue volunteers. Local animal shelters will be offered assistance with their own disaster planning.

International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) 501(c)(3)
IFAW was founded more than 30 years ago in an effort to stop commercial hunting of white-coat harp seals in Canada. IFAW has become the world’s leading international animal welfare organization. IFAW’s Emergency Relief Animal Rescue team can be quickly mobilized for search and rescue, shelter and supply assistance and financial assistance for local animal welfare organizations. IFAW deploys rescue teams that are especially skilled and equipped for water rescue. As an international agency, they have developed a broad base of financial support that can assist in the funding of local efforts.

IFAW emergency rescue teams were based in Gonzales, LA. Their rescue teams recovered around 10 birds among hundreds of animals. IFAW assisted in the rescue of the Trumpeter Swans. IFAW assisted in logistics at Lamar Dixon. Nearly $1 million was raised for Katrina relief which funded their water rescue teams and made possible financial grants ($65,000) to LSU in support of the shelter at Parker Coliseum, Houston SPCA and to LA-SPCA to assist with rescue and rebuilding. IFAW was the recipient of donations for Katrina made at PetSmart.

Code 3 Associates, Inc. 501(c)(3)
Code 3 Associates is a national organization committed to professional disaster response for animal rescue in the United States and Canada. In partnerships with veterinary schools, law enforcement and other humane organizations that focus on animal rescue, Code 3 is available for emergency response. They also provide training for first responders and assist public safety professionals in planning for disaster response. They are committed to preparation by increasing public awareness. Code 3 Associates have a huge mobile Command Vehicle dubbed BART (the Big Animal Rescue Truck) manned by a highly trained Essential Animal Services Team.

Code 3 is equipped for avian rescues. Emergency care can be provided and rescued birds are transferred to the care of a specified sheltering agency, usually UAN. During the Katrina response more than 75 companion birds were rescued by Code 3 and transferred to Lamar Dixon. An estimated 200 companion birds were found dead, usually due to heat or starvation. Code 3 rescued the trumpeter swans from New Orleans City Park and assisted with their transport to the Audubon Zoo. An estimated $25,000 was spent by Code 3 during the Katrina response.

Noah’s Wish 501(C)(3)
Noah’s Wish is an animal welfare organization with one goal. Terri Crisp, founder and director, brings to the group her lifelong experiences in animal rescues after disasters. Working from her experiences following Exxon Valdez, Hurricanes Andrew and Floyd, 9/11, and the Tsunami, Noah’s Wish specifically addresses disaster relief offering education, planning and emergency response. Noah’s wish includes birds in their rescue and shelter protocol.

A standing MOU with Animal Control in Slidell, Louisiana, allowed for rapid, focused response after the storm. Noah’s Wish joined with Animal Control and set up an emergency shelter in Slidell after Katrina destroyed the original facility. Approximately 1,900 animals including 12 companion birds (Amazon, 2 AGPs, 8 smaller birds),and 18 chickens, ducks and geese, were rescued, cared for, reunited, re-homed or placed in foster care during the 11 weeks following Katrina. Recovery efforts include re-supplying pet owners with essential cages, food and other equipment. Noah’s Wish has pledged $1 million towards rebuilding the animal control facility in Slidell. Their efforts in Louisiana were provided at no cost and funded by donations to the organization.

2. “Rogue” Rescue Organizations

Among the rescue groups responding to the animal emergency after Katrina were several organizations that chose not to participate in the mainstream collaborative efforts at Parker Coliseum and Lamar Dixon. These groups operated independently and were dubbed “rogue rescues” by HSUS, UAN, ASPCA and AH. Two of these groups proved to be small but mighty and significantly impacted the rescue effort. The Katrina response also generated a number of new rescues groups, some of which have obtained non-profit status and continue to operate. Self deployment became a considerable problem for the SV. Some individuals and groups not participating in the IC skirted veterinary licensing procedures. A few independent rescue groups continued their efforts after local agencies were back in operation.

Pasado’s Safe Haven 501(c) (3)
This organization is located in Washington State and is committed to rescue and rehabilitation of dogs, cats, and farm animals. The organization was inspired by the beating and death of a much loved donkey by several local boys. The incident resulted in the formation of the sanctuary and in a total overhaul of animal cruelty laws in Washington.

After Katrina, Pasado’s set up an independent facility complete with veterinary triage and mobile hospital on a 150 acre horse farm in Houma, Louisiana. They proceeded to gather support from MCI, PETsMART, Halliburton, Nintendo and 1-800-Petmeds among others. Pasado’s was on site for 2 months and rescued 1200 animals. Rescued birds (20+/-) were sent to 911ParrotAlert. The effort mounted by Pasado’s is estimated to have cost more than $100,000.

Best Friends Animal Society 501(c)(3)
Best Friends runs the nations largest animal sanctuary, located in Southern Utah. It is dedicated to the idea that kindness for animals will help build a better world. Best Friends runs a model shelter program and participates with local humane groups across the country. The organization set up a shelter in Tylertown, Mississippi where hundreds of animals were housed following rescue in New Orleans and Mississippi. Best Friends includes birds in their Utah sanctuary and they welcomed birds in Tylertown.

E. Veterinary Medical Organizations, Veterinary Medical Schools, and Teaching Hospitals

1. State and Local Associations

The Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association (LA-VMA) played a central role in Katrina response. Working with LA Department of Agriculture and Forestry, LA-SPCA, Louisiana Animal Control and LSU School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), LA-VMA veterinarians managed evacuations and assisted in the set up of shelters in Alexandria, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, Abbeville, Baton Rouge and Gonzales. With veterinarians and technicians from all over the country, LA-VMA veterinarians provided rescue, veterinary care and temporary shelter to thousands of animals.

2. Veterinary Medical Schools (LSU)

Louisiana State University had a carefully scripted emergency plan as provided in the Louisiana Disaster Plan. LSU was equipped with athletic facilities, housing and dining services, police and fire crews, maintenance crews, a veterinary school and a willing faculty, staff and student population. It found itself at the center of one of the most heroic and extensive rescue and sheltering efforts ever after Hurricane Katrina hit. A full scale medical facility with special-needs housing was set up for evacuees of hospitals, nursing homes and injured or ill as a result of the storm. All available housing and food services were utilized for the many displaced residents that literally doubled the population of Baton Rouge overnight. An emergency communications center made possible vital coordination after telephone and cell phone systems collapsed.

In response to the overwhelming need to shelter the pets of those evacuated in the face of the storm, the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) established a shelter in LSU’s AgCenter’s Parker Coliseum, an indoor horse show arena. Within hours the number of animals sheltered reached more than 500. Before the shelter closed on Oct. 15, more than 2,000 pets had been housed or treated and finally reunited or placed in foster care. Critically injured and ill animals tested the capacity of the teaching hospital and it’s ICU.

Parker Coliseum housed an estimated 200 birds. As Parker was primarily a shelter for owned animals, most were reunited before the shelter closed. Within the shelter a designated area was covered with netting to prevent escape. Expert veterinary care was available through the veterinary school and provided by volunteer vets like Julie Burge. Every effort was made to transfer birds out of the shelter as soon as possible.

3. American Veterinary Medical Association

The AVMA, a national professional association of more than 70,000 veterinarians has been at the forefront of emergency planning for decades. An MOU with US Public Health incorporated veterinary services into the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) in 1993. The agreement provides a framework for response that is similar to Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) that provides medical care to humans. In 1994, an agreement was reached with USDA/APHIS to allow for VMAT to assist in the event of a disease outbreak. In an agreement with The American Red Cross, AVMA is recognized as the only national veterinary organization and agreed to refer all animal related issues arising in the course of disaster response to members of national, state, regional or local veterinary associations.

The American Veterinary Medical Foundation was formed to support VMAT and to promote emergency preparedness based on cooperation between federal, state, local agencies and incorporate veterinary medical professionals into coordinated disaster response.

Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams (VMAT) are highly trained teams of veterinarians, technicians, epidemiologists, toxicologists and support personnel that are ready for deployment to any state or territory when their services are requested. Each team is capable of deployment within 24 hours of a call, and can establish a functional field hospital that can be self supporting for at least three days. There are currently 4 VMATs, numbered 1-5. All four were deployed in response to Hurricane Katrina. VMAT-1 was first stationed at the New Orleans airport and later relocated to Lamar Dixon; VMATs 2 and 3 were directed into Mississippi and VMAT-5 set up a field hospital in one of the barns at the HSUS facility in Gonzales, LA at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center. Assignments for VMAT are at the direction of the SV.

F. Regional Businesses, Organizations and Individuals

911 Parrot Alert
911Parrot Alert became an early central location for bird rescue. Internet requests for assistance resulted in an outpouring of caging, food and toy supplies from producers, retailers, bird clubs and individuals. Avian rescue workers, including veterinarians, arrived daily from all over the country. More than three hundred birds were sheltered at 911 in Baton Rouge. Six months after the event nearly 85 birds remain and 40 are scheduled to be picked up. Donna Powell remains committed to housing the remaining birds for up at least a year. There are no estimates available for costs incurred. Support was made available through cash donations of around $12,000 along with supply donations, and was augmented in part by ASPCA reunification money.

Phoenix Landing 501(c)(3)
Phoenix Landing is a non-profit all volunteer organization for avian welfare serving Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. In response to the crisis and to internet calls for assistance from 911Parrot Alert, Phoenix Landing sent volunteers and a cargo van of supplies (estimated value of supplies and expenses $8,000) to Baton Rouge. Assisting with bird care, identification, online listings and telephone inquiries, one especially dedicated volunteer arranged a database that organized all available data about each bird at Parrot 911. Phoenix Landing offered the labor and resourcefulness of their volunteer network and stands prepared to re-home birds that cannot be united with their owners.

Mended Wings Foundation (MWF) 501(c) (3)
Mended Wings Foundation, located in Los Gatos, California, is a small non profit dedicated to promoting quality of life for companion parrots through education and assistance with the costs of medical care. An estimated $5,000 was donated for Katrina relief and MWF facilitated the effort to send a well-equipped portable field clinic and a willing avian veterinarian to Parrot 911 in Baton Rouge.

Individuals

In addition to the countless volunteers from the area that joined in the rescue and recovery efforts, one family opened their home to the larger birds from Lamar Dixon. With the blessing of Wayne Pacelli (HSUS CEO), but without formal export, the birds were relocated to a beautiful private home near LSU. These birds were housed while the family engaged in a heroic effort of reunification and received great care, including regular veterinary care from Dr. Greg Rich. Six months later only eight birds remained as the rest have been reunited with their owners. This effort was funded privately by the family and no estimates are available as to the cost.

CONCLUSION -- Scope and success of response

Looking back on the unprecedented response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, most agree it was the disaster response for animals by which all others will be viewed. The “perfect storm” conditions of a city situated below sea level; emergency planning tested a year before in computer simulation and found to be inadequate by any measure, and a major Category 4/5 storm, was compounded by a population that demographically was unable or unwilling to include their animals in evacuation plans.

Studies exist that accurately predict who will evacuate with their pets. Statistically these people are the same ones that provide veterinary care and share their homes with their pets. Given all the factors that combined to make this a worst case scenario, including a federal emergency agency sorely in need of reorganization, the all out efforts mounted by all available and willing agencies, groups and individuals was not only necessary, but stretched to its limits.

Although we can always hope this scenario will never again need to be repeated, recent continued evidence of global warming and its impact on severe weather conditions in this country and worldwide warn us that disaster preparedness is more critical than ever. Increasing cooperation between all groups interested in animal welfare is well worth the effort.