EQUINE | International News
Equine Disease
Quarterly – April 2018
COMMENTARY
This is a clarion call for every equine owner, manager,
caretaker, veterinarian/scientist, or other equine
stakeholder with the desire to maintain and improve
the welfare of the horse and the quality of life of the
equine industry stakeholders before, during, and after
disaster events. Water, food, fuel, shelter, medical
care—how will you access these vital needs for
survival for you, your horse(s), and other family/team
members, pets, and livestock if faced with a disaster
event like those that affected millions last year along
our coasts, in our heartland, and in cities, towns, and
villages all over the U.S. and in other countries?
What is your plan when water is rising or fire is racing
so fast around your farm or stable that you cannot get
your horses out? What is your plan if you and your
horses are involved in a vehicular accident during
transport or if you are required to “stop-movement” due
to a disease outbreak? With the multitude of maladies
that can and will occur to us and our animals in our
lifetime, can you answer “yes” to the question, “Have
we done ‘due diligence’ with developing a functional
all-hazards disaster plan to protect us and the animals
that make up such a significant part of our lives?” In an
age of increasing exposure to extreme weather events
exacerbated by climate change along with human and
animal population expansion, it is not a matter of if,
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but when will it happen to each and every one of us in
some capacity. It is time for us as equine stakeholders
to wake up and heed the call over 13 years (or longer)
in the making, to take responsibility for our own lives
and the horses that mean so much to us, our families,
our economy, our country, and our world.
Since 2005, post-hurricanes Katrina and Rita, animal
issues have become a real part of the discussion
regarding emergency planning in communities,
especially pet animals since saving animal lives saves
human lives. People are more apt to evacuate out of
harm’s way if there are provisions for the animals.
Many areas of our country have made major progress
and have made it a priority and routine to be proactive
with planning in areas prone to repeated disasters (e.g.
coastal Florida, parts of Louisiana and Mississippi,
Texas, California, and others). However, it is clear that
complacency and lack of situational awareness related
to individual risk still seems to be the norm at the local
community level. Although there are numerous stories
of heroes, lives saved, positive outcomes in recent and
past disasters, the losses continue to mount. Many of
these losses are repeats of the same mistakes happening
again and again. Will it really take a disaster such as
Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Maria, or major wildfire for
folks to realize that responsible horse owners must have
• Equine Health Update •