It's been nearly eight months since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast area, and The HSUS's response includes both short- and long-term strategies. We are working to rebuild the capacity of the animal care community to make it stronger than ever—improving the humane infrastructure along the Gulf Coast with reconstruction grants and partnerships and working to curb the historic problems of animal overpopulation and heartworm in the region. In addition, with our sights fixed on making lasting changes, we are building our own capacity to respond to major disasters, as well as pursuing a national legislative policy that takes animals into account during such emergencies.
Thanks to an outpouring of public concern over animals in disasters starting with Hurricane Katrina, The HSUS raised more than $30 million for disaster response services since August 2005. Only a small percentage was specifically earmarked for Katrina, although The HSUS has spent the bulk of those funds in the Gulf Coast states. Thus far, we have spent or committed approximately $25 million on our response to and recovery from Katrina and other disasters last year. This report highlights our major expenditures.
"Rescuing stranded animals and providing for their care was the most visible portion of our disaster response program," says Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. "But we knew all along that the road to recovery requires rebuilding the capacity of local organizations to provide basic services for the communities affected by Katrina. We intend to help rebuild the humane infrastructure on the Gulf Coast and make it stronger than it was before the storms hit. We're going to go even further by doing all that we can to encourage government at all levels to incorporate animals into disaster planning."
Katrina Rescue and Support Operations
After Katrina struck on August 29, The HSUS reassigned more than 200 staff members from HSUS headquarters and field offices to respond to the crisis. Over the last six months, The HSUS has spent or committed over $5.5 million on direct operations related to Katrina. We cooperatively operated two major temporary facilities, at Gonzales, Louisiana, and Hattiesburg, Mississippi; set up an emergency sheltering operation in Gamaliel, Arkansas, in a Katrina-related hoarding case; supported other groups' rescue efforts; and outfitted and staffed an innovative overflow shelter at the Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson, Louisiana. These efforts resulted in direct rescue and care for more than 10,000 abandoned, hungry, and frightened animals.
We helped coordinate and covered the field expenses for thousands of volunteers and animal care professionals who went to the stricken areas. Our logistical support brought millions of dollars worth of essential supplies and services to the afflicted zones. We paid for the facilities and refrigerated transport vehicles that supported operations throughout the Gulf and carried animals to safe harbor. We even chartered planes to fly animals to local humane societies and rescue groups, to free up space and make it possible to take in more rescued animals from the field.
The HSUS dedicated about $800,000 to the operation of a reunion center that matched displaced animals with the people who had lost them, and helped to coordinate their return. We helped to reunite about 2,500 people with their pets and helped to find new homes for many others. We moved animals with obvious behavioral challenges to specialist facilities to give them the opportunity for evaluation, training, and possible adoption.
Reconstruction Grants
The HSUS has already given away or committed over $7.5 million in reconstruction grants to organizations in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida. This includes a $4.5 million grant-and-aid package to the Louisiana SPCA and $665,000 to the Humane Society of South Mississippi, two major organizations whose facilities were destroyed or severely damaged by the storm, and $250,000 to build a new animal shelter in Hancock County, Mississippi. Groups receiving $50,000 or more include Animal Aid for Vermilion Area (Louisiana), Mississippi Animal Rescue League, the Humane Society of Southeast Texas, the Humane Society of Broward County (Florida), the St. Tammany Humane Society (Louisiana), the Clearwater Wildlife Sanctuary (Mississippi), and the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Nature Preservation Society (Mississippi).
The HSUS is considering additional recovery projects and applications for assistance that will amount to millions more for Gulf Coast groups and agencies. We are also in discussions with the congressional delegations from Louisiana and Mississippi to secure federal funds for all of the animal care and control entities in the devastated zones. Because it takes time to plan and execute reconstruction efforts, the allocation of additional monies will occur over the next year or so as we help rebuild the long-term animal-care capacity of the region. We have husbanded sufficient resources to foster this multi-year rebuilding effort.
Reimbursement Grants
The HSUS has made over $1.3 million in reimbursement grants to more than 75 local humane societies, animal control agencies, and rescue groups throughout the United States that assisted in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts by sending staff members to the stricken zones, accepting Katrina animals, and working to reunite displaced animals with the people searching for them. Groups receiving $50,000 or more included Animal Rescue New Orleans/1-800-Save-A-Pet.com, the Houston SPCA, Best Friends Animal Society, Farm Sanctuary, the Humane Society of North Texas, Linda Blair Worldheart Foundation, the SPCA of Texas, the Humane Society/SPCA of Sumter County, Texas State Animal Response Team, and the Santa Cruz (CA) SPCA. Another $700,000 has been committed for future grants.
Trapping Operations
The HSUS sent teams of professional trappers in order to conduct high-volume humane trapping to deal with strays in the affected areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. We will continue to support well-managed field operations to trap stray animals. We purchased, used, and distributed hundreds of humane traps. We have spent approximately $100,000 on these projects.
Other Disasters
The Gulf Coast was not the only place The HSUS assisted when disaster struck in 2005. In early January, several weeks after the massive tsunami hit Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, our affiliate Humane Society International sent disaster relief teams to those devastated nations of the Indian Ocean rim. We sent people into the field again in October when a horrific earthquake struck in Pakistan and India. A month later, when Hurricane Wilma pounded parts of Mexico and Florida, HSUS personnel stepped up to the challenge there too. The estimated cost of The HSUS's non-Katrina disaster work for 2005 was $500,000.
Building Our Own Capacity to Respond to Major Disasters
In Katrina's aftermath, The HSUS has taken steps to develop the humane movement's most comprehensive disaster response team, with experts in rescue, sheltering, logistics, technology, and veterinary services working under the capable leadership of a newly hired director of Disaster Services. Much of the support provided to The HSUS was given with the hope that we would significantly enhance our capacity to respond to the long-term crisis in the Gulf Coast and to respond to future disasters with a more complete capability. We have committed $5 million to this expanded program. We are tripling the section's capacity and are expanding its budget for the next three years to extend its work. We are going to provide additional disaster training for all HSUS staff members and expand our efforts to train disaster animal response teams at the local and state levels. The reconstituted Disaster Services team will lead our response to future disasters as well as to large-scale cruelty cases and other matters that require hands-on competency. The development of a new, non-commercial, disaster-specific database for identifying and tracing rescued animals will also be a priority.
Legislative Work
The HSUS will work to secure the enactment of the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act (S. 2548 and H.R. 3858), requiring state and local authorities to include pets and service animals in their disaster evacuation plans. On April 5, 2006, in a positive step, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved H.R. 3858. Our pursuit of this legislation is part of a broader effort to bring about a sea change in public policy concerning the safety of animals during disaster, one that involves contact and collaboration with government agencies at all levels. We are also working to shape evacuation and disaster care protocols for institutions and facilities responsible for large numbers of animals. The animal protection community, on its own, cannot possibly handle all of the needs of animals in large-scale disasters. Should we succeed in seeing the legislation enacted, we will work on rulemaking and its proper implementation. We have committed $500,000 towards this important effort.
Other Plans and Partnerships
The HSUS is developing a number of exciting projects to help animals in the Gulf Coast states. The most important of these deal with the region's longstanding animal overpopulation problem, exacerbated in certain respects by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, The HSUS plans to devote at least $2 million to address the high proportion of unsterilized animals in Louisiana and Mississippi, by launching a series of aggressive spay and neuter initiatives with local organizations, veterinary schools, and other partners.
We have granted $325,000 to the Southern Animal Foundation for an expansion of its spay and neuter work, and we may consider additional gifts if the program proves successful.
We have granted $125,000 (supplementing a previous grant of $25,000) to the Humane Alliance's "Big Fix Rig" to conduct high-volume spay and neuter activities in the Gulf region. The HSUS will also spend about $200,000 in a joint venture with the ASPCA and PetSmart Charities that will provide spay/neuter vouchers and support a high-volume spay/neuter clinic in Mississippi. Finally, we are launching a partnership with Louisiana State University to develop a major spay and neuter program on the model of our highly successful Rural Area Veterinary Services program, and we are considering a similar program with Mississippi State University.
The infusion of capital into spay and neuter programs is designed to ease the burden on local agencies that deal with the effects of animal overpopulation. If we can diminish the number of animals being produced, the community institutions won't need to invest as many resources in treating the problem. And since this area is so vulnerable to weather systems, we want as few homeless animals on the streets as possible, so that no unnecessary suffering will occur when another disaster hits.
"With the many major programs we are supporting that will very dramatically enhance the spaying and neutering capacity in the Gulf region, we truly hope to conquer the pet overpopulation problem so that there is a home for every animal in need," adds Pacelle.
In addition to our spay and neuter initiatives, we are conducting a feasibility assessment, with several institutional partners in the devastated zone, for a permanent animal housing facility for animal care, sheltering, and future disaster relief. We have committed $500,000 toward the realization of this project. And we expect to spend $750,000 for the construction of short-term overflow facilities, to serve as emergency animal housing areas for future disasters, at The Fund for Animals' Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Ramona, California, and Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas.
We will continue to develop new projects and enter into partnerships with other organizations and agencies so that we can be as effective as possible in helping animals in the Gulf Coast states and responding to future disasters.
The HSUS takes its responsibility for stewardship of donated funds very seriously and will continue to be transparent and accountable in our work to help animals. We will periodically update our list of expenditures and commitments related to Katrina relief at our web site, www.hsus.org.
