The PETS Act: Emergency Preparedness Planning for Household Pets

On October 6, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS Act) into federal law. This bi-partisan legislation was in direct response to the country's outrage regarding the restrictions placed on pet owners forced to evacuate Hurricane Katrina and leave their animals behind. The PETS Act requires that local and state emergency management plans include preparation for evacuating family pets and service animals along with their owners. It also allows FEMA to provide funding to create pet-friendly shelters and assist with the development of localized emergency management plans.

When Hurricane Katrina stormed the shores of Louisiana and Mississippi in August 2005, it changed the way the world sees America and how we see ourselves. The list of what went wrong during pre-Katrina planning is fully as disastrous as the mistakes made after landfall and combined to create images that for those who witnessed them, will never be forgotten.

Over the days and weeks that followed Katrina's destruction of New Orleans, LA, Gulfport, MS, and other coastal communities, numerous stories and photos of household pets left behind by owners unable to include them in their evacuation became the focus of millions. Hundreds of pleas from evacuees desperate to locate their pets peppered the internet and the airways. Most were unable to reunite with the animal members of their families and as reported by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), as many as 50,000 companion animals died.

The PETS Act is one of the positive changes that came out of the disaster. The impact and value of this legislation was apparent during the recent evacuations prompted by Hurricane Gustav. Citizens unable to provide independent transportation were able to bring their pets to staging areas for evacuation. Cats, dogs, rabbits, and other small pets were issued bar coded bands that matched those their owners were provided. They were then loaded into pet carriers and transported in air conditioned tractor trailers to pre-designated shelters.

This legislation is not limited to evacuations due to hurricanes only. The PETS Act applies to all disasters including floods, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes and other declared states of emergency. The law's intent is to not only protect pets and service animals, but their owners as well. As illustrated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many people confronted with the decision to either leave pets behind or risk everything and stay in a disaster area decide in favor of their pets. This decision, understandable or not, plays a part in the number of human deaths and the number of rescues that are carried out, which ultimately costs not just lives but dollars.

The PETS Act, an expansion of the 1988 Stafford Act, stipulates that in order for a community or state to be eligible to receive federal emergency funding, a detailed plan outlining emergency transportation and shelter plans for household pets and services animals be submitted to FEMA. Although this legislation has been in place for almost two years, 14 states including Katrina affected Mississippi, have not submitted plans that are compliant with the PETS Act. A map of the states that have plans in place and a list of resources are available on the American Veterinary Medical Association's website.

To assist individuals with their own emergency preparedness planning, FEMA has produced a DVD entitled "Animals in Emergencies: What Planners Need to Know". More information about this presentation and how to receive a copy is available by contacting FEMA.