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Rescuing Katrina’s Forgotten Victims
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, creating the worst U.S. natural disaster in more than a century, TV viewers were horrified by images of animals stranded on rooftops, clinging to trees, and swimming frantically toward media crews’ boats. After animal rescuers—delayed by red tape and initial reports of violence—were at last granted access to some of the hardest-hit areas, PETA dispatched teams of trained animal-emergency staffers who spent two weeks breaking down doors, crawling through filth, wading through noxious floodwaters, and coaxing terrified animals to safety. Working with federal, state, and local officials, our teams rescued more than 300 cats, dogs, birds, and other animals and helped care for thousands more at emergency animal shelters.
Raining Cats and Dogs
As the days passed and surviving animals continued to be plucked from rooftops, deserted streets, and abandoned homes, emergency animal shelters in Louisiana and Mississippi quickly reached capacity. Animals needed to be moved out in order to make room for those pouring in every day. Several PETA team members took a break to drive 32 dogs to PETA’s headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, to be fostered by PETA staffers and volunteers until their families could be located or they could be adopted into new homes.
Preventing Tragedy
Many animals were left behind when their guardians were prohibited from taking them on rescue boats or helicopters. Some heroic souls adamantly refused to evacuate—even at gunpoint—risking their lives in order to care for their own animals as well as those abandoned by neighbors. At the height of the crisis, PETA’s honorary director, Rue McClanahan, dashed off a letter to President Bush, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Louisiana’s Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, and Mississippi’s Gov. Haley Barbour, begging them to instruct rescue workers to allow evacuees to keep their animals, and eventually, authorities did relent. PETA also called on FEMA to include a plan for animals in its disaster response program and supports the
PETS Act, a bipartisan bill that would require that government disaster plans include provisions for animals.
You Can Help
Donate to PETA and help support our work for animals, including our disaster response teams, our transport and care of rescued animals, our efforts to send disaster preparedness information to media outlets before storms hit, and our assistance of stricken communities in times of need.
PETA's House Government Reform Committee Testimony
Heroes of the Storm
Stars Urge Officials to Take Action to Protect Animals in Disasters in PETA Ad
Read the Latest News From the Gulf Coast
Listen to PETA's Reports From New Orleans
Watch Footage of PETA's Life-Saving Work
See Pictures of PETA's Rescue Work
