A BRIEF HISTORY
Failing to provide for animal response in a disaster directly threatens human health and safety. This reality led Congress to pass the federal Pets Evacuation & Transportation Standards Act (PETS) of 2006, which requires states and communities to plan for the evacuation of animals as well as people during disasters in order to qualify for federal reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In response to the PETS Act, the New Hampshire Disaster Animal Response Team (NHDART) was incorporated in June, 2007 at the request of New Hampshire State Veterinarian Stephen Crawford, DVM. NHDART is an independent, tax-exempt corporation approved by the IRS in March 2008, and was created to support New Hampshire’s efforts to integrate animal response with human response in the event of a disaster.
The New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food (NHDAMF) and the state veterinarian are primarily responsible for animals in a disaster response at the state level. As such, and in light of the limited amount of resources and personnel that the NHDAMF can bring to bear during emergency planning and response, the office of the state veterinarian has collaborated with other state and federal government agencies including state Homeland Security and Emergency Management experts; private sector entities; and individuals with experience in animal and disaster management to create a viable solution to strengthen the state’s response capabilities.
NHDART was built as a stand-alone, private, non-profit entity which could be tied to the NHDAMF for emergency response through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). In addition to this obligation, and as a free-standing body, this Animal Response Team is capable of and available to respond to both local and regional events that have not yet risen to the level of a state emergency response.
The New Hampshire model works to provide local authorities with tools, education, and, in many cases, trained volunteer disaster animal response teams. These locally built teams may be tied to the NHDART corporate entity for networking, education and additional resources, especially when local resources are depleted. In addition to enabling communities to directly manage disaster response, the NHDART model provides two benefits that a single state team does not:
• A safety net for those events that do not rise to the level of a state declaration yet still require a local response; and
• A bit more time for the State to respond to other animal health needs during a disaster.
It is not assumed that every community will be able to fully respond to every disaster, but the NHDART model enables towns to take control of their role in a response.
During the December, 2008 New Hampshire ice storm, the NH model proved successful when, for the first time ever, as many as 19 out of 60 local municipal shelters, including 3 American Red Cross Shelters, provided for companion animals during icy temperatures and power outages.
NHDART’s founder, Lora dePlante, was actively and substantially involved in the initial phases of developing emergency response plans and animal response teams in New Hampshire, even before the state-wide organization was formed. She was regularly called upon by state and local decision makers to offer advice and assistance, as she had already formed and developed a local Disaster Animal Response Team in her hometown of New Ipswich, NH. It was Lora’s vision and determination that led to the many successes the organization has enjoyed in building their ranks of skilled volunteers throughout the state, and building their reputation as a dependable response resource for the Granite State.
“I envision that the organization will be a great asset not only to the state during emergency planning and response, but will also provide a presently non-existent resource to both local and regional emergency response efforts in New Hampshire,” said Dr. Crawford.