Katrina & Animals: what can DU'ers do to make sure it never happens again?

[shireen]

We've all heard reports of families forcibly separated from their pets. We've heard of people who refused to abandon their pets and ended up being killed in the floods. We've seen heartbreaking photos and videos of abandoned animals, some of them dying slowly. We're now watching rescue organizations working heroically and hard, trying to beat the clock, to save as many animals as possible.

For many of us, our animals are our family, our best friends, our protectors, and so much more. We are responsible for their well-being, and we love them. The human-animal relationship is a very special bond that needs to be protected and respected; policy-makers must be made to understand this in order to take animal rescue more seriously.

Let's put our heads together and think of ways we can support animal rescue organizations in changing policy about the treatment of animals during disaster evacuations and rescues. We need to help them develop practical solutions for the evacuation and rescue of animals with their owners, and persuade elected officials to adopt these measures. Personally, I've got zero experience in doing stuff like this; it would really help to hear from others who have been there, done that.

What happened in New Orleans and other affected areas of the Gulf Coast must never happen again, for both humans and animals. We need a place to talk about this in a focused and organized way. Would you support a new forum called "Humane Treatment of Animals" in the "Politics and Issues" section? Over time, this could possibly include other aspects of animal treatment but for now, let's focus on disaster relief for animals. If you're interested, please let the DU administrators know so they can gauge the amount of interest for this new forum.

[Plausible]

1. I'm in

and I'm wondering also if the ones that can be gathered up will be reunited with families or put down.

I had been wondering about getting an adoption program going for unclaimed Katrina pets.

It is cruelty to the animals to abandon them and crueity to those who love them to make them abandon them.

[lindisfarne]

2. DU Animal lovers:Time to put pressure on NO to allow people in for pets!

There is a call to the authorities to allow New Orleans residents back in for a few hours to rescue their pets. Many areas of NO are fine to get into. Bestfriends.org is also calling for this.

See this thread for media contact information and a sample letter.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4732630

[shireen]

3. Also contact White House. See lindisfarne's link for contact info. n/t