Saturday, July 29, 2006
By DAN PADEN
PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS
The cruise ships and helicopters sent by the United States to rescue Americans from war-torn Lebanon are poignant symbols of our government's commitment to its citizens, wherever they may be. Yet for many of the people desperate to escape the strife, the government's plan comes at a high cost.
U.S. officials forced these men, women and children, who already lost their homes and belongings, to leave their dogs, cats and other companion animals behind. Beloved animals were ordered out of their owners' arms, abandoned on the streets and left to starve amid the rubble.
This directive was cruel and immoral. Our government must act now to make arrangements for animals in disaster planning that allow companion animals to be evacuated with their people.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals became aware of this tragedy when telephone calls on behalf of Americans in Lebanon began pouring into our offices. These people, though traumatized and frightened by the violence they witnessed, were nevertheless desperate to spare their animals death on the streets.
Animal shelters aren't an option. According to one Beirut animal protection organization, animal shelters are located in areas under fire. Workers and volunteers must risk their lives just to get to the shelters twice a day to feed the dogs and cats. Because the country is effectively cut off from surrounding regions and trade has come to a halt, shrinking supplies of dog and cat food can't be replenished.
Behind the learning curve
Devising a workable plan is neither superfluous nor difficult. It was done effectively by officials from France, who evacuated both French citizens and their companion animals from Lebanon. By contrast, the U.S.'s cold-hearted ultimatum -- If you don't leave your animals to certain death, we'll leave you behind -- indicates that our government has learned nothing from Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of people risked, and sometimes lost, their lives rather than abandon their animals in the wake of Katrina. According to one news report, refusal to abandon animals was the number one reason people were still holding out in New Orleans more than a week after the hurricane hit.
In the months after Katrina, animal protection organizations have been advising government officials on disaster response plans that won't force evacuees to choose between their own safety and their animals. Congress is now considering a bill that would require local and state emergency-preparedness authorities to include companion animals in their evacuation plans in order to receive grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Yet Americans are again being told they must leave their pets behind. Worse, while the bill is a huge step in the right direction, it does not deal with overseas evacuations of Americans and their animals.
Have we learned nothing from past errors? What will it take for the U.S. government to include arrangements for animals in disaster planning -- if not for the animals' sake, then for the sake of the people who would rather die than leave them behind? Now that 12,000 Americans have been brought home -- without their animals -- let us urge our representatives to take action ensuring that such a travesty never occurs again.
Dan Paden works for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in Norfolk, Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.