U.S. Department of State Refusing to Allow Evacuating U.S. Nationals in Japan to Take Their Animals

AGAIN ... Didn't We Learn from Katrina??

I have never posted twice in the same day, but this is important!!

Posted By Dawn Kairns, Author of  MAGGIE the dog who changed my life A Story of Love

I received this message from Daphna Nachminovitch, Vice President of Cruelty Investigations for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals):

Once again, the U.S. Department of State is refusing to allow U.S. nationals evacuating a disaster zone, this time in Japan, to take their animal companions to safety. The official policy of the Department of State is that it does not evacuate pets. Please contact Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and ask that the State Department allow Americans, without exception, to evacuate all their family members from Japan and from every future disaster area.

PETA agrees with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention public health veterinarians and others that "… a lack of plans and resources to evacuate 'incidental' pets with their owners has been known for decades to be a primary reason why citizens will refuse to evacuate in the face of imminent life-threatening danger." Unfortunately, when it comes to disasters, people who love their animals often pay with their own lives.

In response to PETA's February requests to Secretary Clinton to allow animals on U.S. government–chartered evacuation flights during the coup in Egypt, some animals were finally allowed on the last flight out of that country. While a promising, and temporary, start, PETA asks that all companion animals, regardless of size, be allowed safe transport out of Japan and any future disaster zone.

Please contact Secretary of State Clinton by e-mail or fax (202-647-1579) and ask that:

1. People evacuating Japan be allowed to take their companion animals, regardless of size, with them.
2. The State Department permanently change its official policy to allow pets to be evacuated, simultaneously with their families, from disaster areas.

Thank you for your willingness to act and for your compassion for animals! For more information on how you can help PETA help animals affected by disasters in Japan and elsewhere, please click here.