Pet owners’ share their experiences of rescuing their fur babies during 2017 flood

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-08-04 09:37

New Zealand

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

In April 2017, the largest pet rescue in New Zealand history at that time was mounted to save hundreds of animals who were left behind in the flooded township of Edgecumbe. Researchers asked more than 200 households about their experiences, finding that families with an emergency plan that included their pets’ needs had a significantly higher rate of evacuating at least some of their pets than families without such a plan. Additionally, more than 60% of survey participants said they didn't get any instructions regarding pets while evacuating. The author team makes several recommendations, saying the opportunity now exists for New Zealand to develop world-leading animal-inclusive disaster arrangements, integrated across law, national plans and strategies.