Animal Relations

摘要

When Hurricane Katrina hit southeast Louisiana in 2005, the state and federal authorities were, we know, seriously unprepared. This factor contributed significantly to the loss of life and environmental devastation: roughly 1,800 human deaths and over a million made homeless; destruction of animal habitats and breeding grounds, marshlands, island ecologies; and erosion. What is less known is that up to 600,000 domesticated animals were killed or left homeless (in addition to thousands of wild animals). Although some 8,500 companion animals were rescued in Louisiana, the record of animal deaths and the failure to evacuate or pay attention to animals in both natural and human-caused disasters is a sad story (Humane Society, 2008). It's been reported that 21 million horses were deployed by the Russians on the Eastern Front during World War Ⅱ, with two-thirds of the animals killed. Animals serving the military from past to present have been abandoned due to difficulties in providing transport home to both humans and animals (Gardiner, 2006). The care and evacuation of animals abandoned in zoos, homes and farms at times of crisis has also been minimal.