Disaster Relief and Response Teams
When Hurricane Katrina ravaged parts of New Orleans, disaster relief and response teams were called in to find, move, and relocate people and animals. When the wildfires in Southern California spread, many rescue workers were called in to rescue horses and household pets.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Disaster Response Unit helped relocate a few hundred pets from Louisiana to American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) shelters in Texas. HSUS Disaster Response Unit workers also helped find homes for animals lost in the 2004 tsunami overseas.
HSUS is the largest animal protection agency in the country, with more than nine million members. HSUS is a nonprofit organization that works to protect animals in every manner, from disaster preparedness to wildlife and habitat protection to protecting farm animals. In addition to sending workers out into the field for rescue work, HSUS works to educate the public about animal welfare issues.
Another major component of HSUS is the workers who bring about new laws to protect animals. Among other goals, HSUS workers are working to protect dogs and cats from being sold to researchers by illegal means. They want to end the sale of random-source dogs and cats for experimentation. In addition, they want to stop imports of sport-hunted polar bear trophies in the United States.
Alert
Animal relief workers must be comfortable working with pets that are scared and may bite. In the event of a disaster, everyone — even animals — can be terrified. The animals can be territorial and may not want to be moved. It is important to get the proper training from an organization such as HSUS to learn how to handle animals that may attack out of fear.
HSUS's Disaster Response Unit works closely with the American Red Cross, which works to protect people from natural disasters. Other animal organizations, as well as agencies run by state and federal government, also have a hand in rescue work. For example, the Department of Animal Care and Control in Los Angeles, California, organized and trains the L.A. County Equine Response Team to rescue horses.
Many response teams are made up of volunteers. Others work in fire and police departments. HSUS mostly uses trained volunteers, but they do need people to run these training programs.
Paid members of disaster relief units earn salaries equivalent to police officers and detectives. Salaries rise with experience.
