PCRM Pitches In on Katrina Tragedy
 When news reports first revealed that Katrina evacuees were being
forced to leave their companion animals, PCRM issued an immediate
statement criticizing
federal authorities for forcing evacuees to choose between their
possessions and their companion animals.
PCRM psychiatrists said that being forced to leave animals behind
aggravates the trauma the flood victims have already endured. For
many, companion animals are like other family members. “The
evacuation process is already terribly difficult. It is only more
painful when evacuees are forced to leave their animals behind,
condemning them to a slow death by dehydration,” said PCRM
ethologist Jonathan Balcombe, Ph.D.
PCRM member Steven Stigers, M.D., a volunteer in the relief effort,
also issued a statement after
his return from New Orleans. As part of a volunteer physician team
organized by Louisiana’s
emergency response system, Dr. Stigers provided medical care to
people suffering from the aftermath of the devastating hurricane.
Dr. Stigers discovered that in some areas, organizations were not
being allowed in to help animals, and people were not being permitted
to evacuate with their pets. “Now that human relief efforts
are solidly under way, we must tackle the horrific situation still
threatening so many animals,” he stated.
PCRM member psychiatrist Carol Tavani, M.D., also weighed in with
an op-ed distributed nationwide through Knight Ridder Information
Service. Her piece, “‘No Pets’ Policy Traumatizes
Survivors and Impedes Evacuation,” called on authorities
to prevent this tragedy from happening again.
Fortunately,
thanks to the outrage expressed by PCRM and others, relief organizations
eventually began changing their policies. There is now a major
national effort under way to ensure that future relief efforts
recognize companion animals as family members.
PCRM Online,
September 2005
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