The first week of June, Susann Thiel and Lisa Oesterich, F.E.R.R.E.T.
(http://www.ferretemergency.org) board members, attended the HSUS
national conference in Maryland.  They got to meet numerous big names
in pet rescue and Susann sent the board a summation of the event.  I
am sharing her message with you.  I encourage you to visit the websites
she mentions.  I also thought you would be interested in knowing that
we have our first tropical depression of the year.  You can learn more
about hurricanes at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov.

Hi all,
I wanted to send a short synopsis of the HSUS national conference this
past week -- not only because it was fantastic and valuable and Lisa
and I made some great contacts, but also because there are things in
the works that will directly affect us and our mission.

The conference was amazing -- 700 people!!  So many major players were
there: the highest levels of FEMA, Dept of Homeland Security, US Public
Health Service and USDA APHIS; the directors of all the major national
animal rescue and humane organizations (except PETA and mysteriously,
Best Friends); and lots of people from state humane societies, SPCAs, etc.

We talked with and got our brochures and business cards into the hands
of the directors of the American Humane Association and HSUS's disaster
and emergency response teams, the national directors of Noah's Wish, EARS
and Muttshack, FEMA's Region V director, three of the four VMAT leaders,
Pasado's (http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/), a number of veterinarians and
shelter directors, and many other key disaster response personnel.  They
were supportive and encouraging -- and now we have to prove ourselves
worthy!

Over and over again, state and federal officials told us:

1) "We hear you" -- the overwhelming public demand to help animals in
disaster is working, attitudes on the federal level have changed, and
major policy changes are being enacted right now;

2) The Red Cross in some states has already begun enacting -- or at
least developing -- plans for co-located and pet friendly sheltering,
while the national Red Cross is considering changes in its umbrella
policy with regard to animals;

3) More and more states (and FEMA!) are mandating that animals *will*
be evacuated with their owners;
and ... this last one is important for us ...

4) Disaster volunteers must be trained, certified and affiliated --
with a *recognized* organization -- or they won't be allowed into a
disaster zone.  Period.

Most of you won't be directly affected by that.  But undoubtedly some
of our volunteers will be, as will groups such as Ferrets Across America
( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferrets_Across_America/ ).
That worries me.

A "recognized" group includes
HSUS (http://hsus.org),
EARS (http://www.uan.org/ears),
Noah's Wish (http://www.noahswish.org/),
ASPCA (http://www.aspca.org/),
American Humane Association, (http://www.americanhumane.org/),
Best Friends (http://bestfriends.org/),
Muttshack (http://muttshack.org/),
which has already signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for
authorized animal rescue with New Orleans and surrounding parishes,
Pasado's (http://pasadosafehaven.org/) and probably
PETA (http://peta.org/), along with SARTs and CARTs (State and County
Animal Rescue Teams; see http://www.sartusa.org), state and regional
humane societies.

At a minimum you will need to complete the following courses to become
certified and affiliated with these organizations:

FEMA courses offered free, online at
http://www.fema.gov/about/training/index.shtm
Once here, go to Training by Audience and select Individuals or select
Volunteer Agencies.  It is easy to choose from the list.  You will need
the following courses:

IS-100 Introduction to Incident Command System, I-100
IS-200 ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
IS-317 Introduction to Community Emergency Response Teams
IS-700 National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction
IS-800 National Response Plan (NRP), An Introduction
IS-10  Animals in Disaster, Module A: Awareness and Preparedness
IS-11  Animals in Disaster, Module B: Community Planning
IS-111 Livestock in Disasters

You may also want to check out these courses:
IS-288 The Role of Voluntary Agencies in Emergency Management
IS-292 Disaster Basics -- Revised
IS-394 A Protecting Your Home or Small Business From Disaster - New

First aid and CPR training is offered by your local Red Cross chapter
for a small fee.  You can find one near you at http://www.redcross.org.
If you are a disaster volunteer for your chapter, this is offered to you
at no charge.

Depending on where you live, like an agricultural area or one often
stricken by wildfires, and how you want to help in a disaster --
sheltering, supply line, communications, etc. -- some technical or
specialized training may be required as well.

In addition to FEMA or Red Cross, you can sign up for training through
your local or state EM office, SART or CART (see http://www.sartusa.org).
HSUS (http://hsus.org), EARS (http://www.uan.org/ears),
Noah's Wish (http://www.noahswish.org/) and
AHA (http://www.americanhumane.org/) offer multi-day on-site training.
Muttshack (http://muttshack.org/) supplements its list of required FEMA
classes with online lectures and instruction.

Obviously, some of these things require a major commitment on the part of
the volunteer and not everybody has the resources or the desire to go so
far.  It's neither fair nor reasonable to expect cage cleaners and dog
walkers to get all kinds of certification or technical training.  But
this is how we'll get states like Louisiana to be more receptive next
time, and get "human" EM responders, the military and groups like the
American Red Cross on our side, too.  HSUS and other groups believe the
trade-off is worth it in the long run.

If you have no interest in on-scene rescue and prefer to work in
supportive or back-end roles, you should still become affiliated
with one of these groups or their member agencies:

VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster): http://www.nvoad.org
Your local volunteer management center:
http://www.pointsoflight.org/centers/
Citizen Corps: http://www.citizencorps.gov/
[2018 edit: citizenscorps.gov website is now:
https://www.ready.gov/citizen-corps
Also here;s another resource, Guide to Disaster Preparedness:
https://www.staysafe.org/how-to-prepare-yourself-and-your-community-for-natural-disasters/
BIG]
American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org

Hurricane season is here.  Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work!!!

Susann
http://www.ferretemergency.org

renee :)
[Posted in FML issue 5272]