Even before The HSUS dedicated a program to disaster response,
we were in the field to help when catastrophes threatened
animals and communities. In 1969 alone HSUS staff supervised an
emergency feeding operation for wild horses in Nevada, helped
assess a California oil spill's damage, and worked to bring
food, supplies, and staff to animal shelters in Mississippi and
Louisiana after Hurricane Camille.
In 1976—our new Disaster Relief program's first year—we
responded to more than a dozen disasters, including oil spills
in the Chesapeake Bay and the Teton Dam collapse in Idaho's
Snake River Valley. And the following year New Jersey awarded
our program with special recognition for crucial help saving
thousands of starving waterfowl in frozen coastal marshes.
We worked with local personnel to rescue injured animals
when Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington in 1980 and sent
staff to Alaska during the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Throughout
the 1980s and 1990s, we channeled disaster relief through our
regional offices, responding to Hurricane Andrew and the
Mississippi River's Great Flood of 1993, Hurricanes Bonnie and
Georges in 1998, Hurricane Floyd in 1999, and dozens of floods
and wildfires across the country.
Our response efforts made clear the importance of disaster preparedness
planning, so we collaborated with governmental agencies and
organizations—working particularly closely in the 1990s with
the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA)—to ensure that communities were ready before
catastrophes struck. In 2003 we signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and since
March 2000 we have sponsored National Animal Disaster
Conferences every two years to provide emergency responders
with educational and collaborative opportunities available
nowhere else.
Today our Disaster
Dog program helps sponsor canine search and rescue teams,
and our Keeping Pets and Families Together program awards
grants to help local shelters establish services for pet owners
called to active military duty. And whenever disaster strikes,
The HSUS National Disaster Animal Response Teams (DART) move
quickly to evaluate the impact on animals and provide support
to affected communities.
