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The Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team
(PASART)
project was created through a private-public partnership to serve as a
unifying network of organizations, businesses, federal and state government
agencies, and individuals that support a project dedicated to preventing,
preparing and planning for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies
affecting animals in the Commonwealth. PASART’s mission is to develop
and implement procedures, and train participants, and to facilitate a safe,
environmentally sound, and efficient response to emergencies involving
animals on the local,
county, state and federal level.
SART is
based on the principles of the Incident Command System and follows the
guidelines put forth by the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
Since
disasters happen at the local level, County Animal Response Teams (CARTs)
are the most critical aspect of PASART. CARTs are under the
jurisdiction of the county Emergency Management Coordinator, and include
local professionals and volunteers, including Humane Society officers,
Cooperative Extension agents, police and other emergency response personnel,
veterinarians, animal industry leaders, animal owners, and other concerned
citizens.
The
development of animal response teams was made possible because
our nation’s leaders now
recognize the need for emergency planning at national and local levels.
This emergency planning was developed primarily for the safety of people.
It is only recently that emergency planners across the country have realized
how the failure to plan for the animal population will drastically affect
the viability of emergency plans for people.
Agriculture is a major part of Pennsylvania’s economy and lifestyle.
Planners must consider the economic impact of disease outbreaks or other
disasters affecting production animals upon those who depend on these
animals to support their families, as well as the impact a disease could
have on the nation’s food supply, and on the national economy due to trade
restrictions.
Many people consider their pets to be members of the family, so it is
important for planners to consider the human-animal bond when planning for
emergencies; for example, if the emergency warrants an evacuation, many
people will not evacuate without their animals, or will delay their own
evacuation in an attempt to make preparations for their animals left behind
(livestock and companion animals) to their own detriment. These
refusals or delays begin a chain reaction which can seriously jeopardize or
cause a total breakdown of the overall disaster plan
We thank The Lebanon County Kennel Club for their very generous contribution
which will help care for animals in Lebanon County during times of disaster.
Thank You
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