Petition Requesting Animal Rescue

in No-Entry and Planned Evacuation Zones

On April 22, 2011, the Japanese government changed the status of the “voluntary evacuation zones” to “no-go zones.” Moreover, the government added designated “planned evacuation zones” and “evacuation prepared areas.” In response, ALIVE Fukushima has sent a petition reproduced below to the prefectural authorities.

Petition Requesting Animal Rescue in No-Entry and Planned Evacuation Zones

May 2, 2011

Mr.Yuhei Sato,

Governor of Fukushima Prefecture
Jurisdiction under Fukushima Prefecture,
Department of Food Sanitation,
Public Health and Welfare Office,
Headquarters for the Relief of Animals in Emergencies

ALIVE Fukushima sincerely appreciates the tireless efforts of the involved officials and staff in reconstructing the areas affected by the recent disaster. ALIVE Fukushima established a pet consultation service on March 24. We have used the mass media to promote and inform the public of our efforts. We have visited evacuation shelters to talk with evacuees with pets and we have dealt with more than 400 individual cases up until today.

Some evacuees from the no-entry zone are going back to their homes frequently to take care of their pets. Also, many evacuees who live in the planned evacuation zone have contacted us to ask about evacuations with their pets. We urge the relevant officials and staff to take immediate action to resolve following issues.

1. The need for clear guidance concerning evacuation with pets.
When a temporary home visit to the no-entry zone is allowed, please consider and implement special rescue measures, such as preparing microbuses for pets and for people who are evacuated with animals. Please also consider allowing animals to be taken into evacuation shelters. There are pets that are left alone in the no-entry zone. They are very cautious and nervous and it is difficult to go close to them. For these vigilant animals, it is necessary for the owners to be involved in rescue efforts. When evacuees come to shelters with their pets, please establish places for housing pets. If that is too difficult, ALIVE Fukushima and other organizations can help by providing useful information about foster families.

2. The need for guidance concerning evacuation with pets from planned the evacuation zone.
The municipality and pet owners in the planned evacuation zone have contacted ALIVE Fukushima. Please urgently guide the municipality and related governmental bodies to take pets along when evacuating as a general rule. When suggesting this, please advice them that a place for housing pets should be prepared at each evacuation shelter.

3. Rescuing abandoned animals.
Officials from the Public Health and Welfare Office are now in charge of rescuing abandoned animals. We would like to ask you to continue the rescue effort as long as possible. The rescue effort cannot be successfully carried out without sufficient manpower. Please try to increase the workforce as much as possible, so that the search and rescue of wandering pet animals will be effectively conducted.

4. Recruiting more volunteers.
We urge the Headquarters for the Relief of Animals in Emergencies to implement a volunteer registration system for temporary foster families. Please work closely with local volunteers to obtain more manpower and establish a scrupulous support system. We also urge you to publicize the information about animals that have rescued by volunteer groups on your website and try to locate their owners.
We understand that at this difficult time there are countless urgent issues that you need to deal with. However we would greatly appreciate it, if you could pay attention to our requests.

ALIVE Fukushima
NPO ALIVE (All Life in Viable Environment)