Problems with Response to Disaster

Evacuation Center

　In an evacuation center, people with or without pets and people with animal allergies will be living together. As both parties are anxious about the disaster, various problems have occurred.

Complaints about strange smells and noises

Complaints about pets that are left unattended in evacuation centers and roam around evacuees

Some local governments had difficulty in dealing with pets left at home. (Awareness of the need to evacuate with pets has not yet spread)

　Some problems that occur in evacuation centers are caused by pet owners, while others are caused by the lack of a national or local agreement on how to deal with pets.
　For more information on what you as an owner should do to prepare for a disaster, please see the following pages.

For Disaster

Problems Identified During Disaster

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Kumamoto Earthquake

　At the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, some of the large evacuation centers made a distinction between pet owners and non-pet owners, but due to the lack of rules regarding the acceptance of pets, the response was delayed, and there were cases where pets could not be brought in and were kept outside the evacuation centers.
　However, when the Kumamoto Earthquake occurred five years later, the issues and future measures that were raised included the establishment of rules for accepting pets.
　Even if issues are found in areas where major disasters have occurred, they are not shared nationwide, and it can be said that measures for dealing with pets in times of disaster have not yet advanced.

Summary

　One of the most common problems that arise during disasters is the issue of pets and shelters. Because Japan is a country that experiences many disasters, it is necessary to solve the problems that arise at each time and move on to the next.