A woman shares her food with her dog at an evacuation center for pets and their owners near an area devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in Kesennuma, north Japan March 17, 2011. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
With the disaster in Japan now almost two weeks gone, the human toll continues to mount. As rescue workers continue the effort to recover from the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami, animal welfare groups are working around the clock to find food, shelter and medicine for the country’s animals.
And now animal welfare groups have organized to the point that a reliable source of help has arrived.
A photo journal of the animals for the Japan disaster
“It seems that most animals in the hardest hit areas did not survive the tragedies,” said Susan Mercer of Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support.
The nonprofit group, a coalition of three local animal welfare organizations, including HEART-Tokushima, Animal Friends Niigata and Japan Cat Network, is dedicated to helping the animals affected by the tragedy.
“They only saw paw prints left behind in the mud that led to nowhere,” Mercer said, of the animal rescuers who traveled this week to the country’s most devastated regions. As the days go by, the chance of finding human or animal survivors becomes increasingly slim.
Many survivors of the earthquake and tsunami who lost everything have been forced to give up their beloved pets while they rebuild their lives.
And rescue groups are being flooded with pleas from foreigners who have been advised to leave the country due to a nuclear threat and cannot take their animals with them.
Most of the country’s animal shelters are already overwhelmed.
Echoing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many survivors have refused to part with their animals. A woman spotted walking aimlessly with her collie amid the rubble and devastation last week told rescuers she refused to seek shelter without her dog.
“She told them she had stayed in her shaking house for three days because some evacuation centers were not allowing pets,” Mercer said.
Animal Rescue Corps estimates that up to 92,000 companion animals may have been affected. That does not include strays, wildlife and livestock.
These are some organizations which are collecting donations to help the animal victims of the disaster.
* Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support. Those who wish may donate by paypal to donate@jears.org
* World Vets, an international veterinary group based in the U.S. has deployed a group to assist with medical needs. Donations will go toward mobilizing supplies, gear and a first responder team.
Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support
**The best way to donate online is: **
WHO WE ARE
We are a coalition of three No-Kill groups; HEART-Tokushima, Animal Garden Niigata and Japan Cat Network. We are groups that have been rescuing and rehoming animals in Japan for many years and are actively working to help the animals displaced by the current crisis.
Please check out our home pages to see what we do on a daily basis in Japan.
http://www.heart-tokushima.com/ENGLISH/WELCOME.html
http://www.afniigata.org/english/welcome/
IF YOU WISH TO DONATE- HOW WILL FUNDS BE USED and HOW DO YOU DONATE?
Any donations made to Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support, or designated to that fund through any of the 3 member collaborating animal rescue groups will be used as a single fund and strictly reported.
Funds will be used directly for animal rescue and support. We can not yet know what international groups will be specifically donating but we expect our funds to be paying for veterinary care including vaccines, microchips, antibiotics, and medicine, food, cages, safe housing for animals and cost of transporting animals.
Donations can be made by Paypal through Chip-in (When you get to the Paypal page, you can change to English via a link at the upper right of the page.)
Donations will also be able to be made via a bank account and post office account that will be opened tomorrow,and we will post that account information asap.
Bank information for Deposits:
In English: Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Bank Niigata Branch account no. 0073880 Jishin Tsunami Doubutsu Kyuen.
In Japanese: 地震津波動物救援 三菱東京UFJ銀行新潟支店 ００７３８８０
If people would prefer we can also accept International Postal Money Orders. Bank money orders and checks may be difficult to cash in Japan. Purchases for necessary items like food, cages, carriers etc may be able to be made on line as well.
*You can check currency conversion rates at xe.com.
List of specific items they’re looking for:
We will update this list as we go.
***IMPORTANT: For people wanting to send from overseas, PLEASE contact us first. Donations will take weeks to get here and we may have different needs then. Thank you for understanding!! ***
COMFORT AND WARMTH ITEMS
fleece blankets
warm clothes for dogs-all sizes
dog toys
cat toys
scratching boxes or posts
washable dog/cat beds or pillows
treats
HOUSEKEEPING
newspapers (for cages)
rolls of plastic “potty” bags
pet sheets
bath towels
washcloths
paper towels
laundry detergent
dish detergent
heavy duty trash bags
antibacterial hand soap (volunteers)
CATS DAILY CARE
canned cat food
Preferred brands: tbd
dry cat food
Preferred brands: tbd
(KMR) kitten milk formula
sturdy food and water bowls
katsuobushi
litter boxes
litter box sand
cat shampoo/conditioner
nylon collars
TRANSPORT AND SHELTER
dog crates and kennels
cat carriers
DOGS DAILY CARE
canned dog food
Preferred brands: tbd
dry dog food
Preferred brands: tbd
sturdy food and water bowls
Epiotic Ear Wash Liquid
nylon collars and leads (all sizes)
dog shampoo/conditioner
MEDICAL
sterile gauze
saline solution
bandages for dogs and cats
antiseptic wipes for pets
cotton balls
Q-tips
hot water bottles
PLEASE SEND NON-MONETARY DONATIONS TO:
Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue & Support
c/o Animal Friends Niigata
Fusube 1430, Nishikanku
Niigata-shi, Niigata-ken
Japan 953-0026
Is there a way to keep current of the “shipping” situation? I’d like to collect items for dogs/cats in Japan from my local clients, but it says to check back as needs may change? Thank you.
I would keep checking their website Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support.
I suspect cash donations would be the way to go.
–Editor