Editor's Note: For initial coverage of veterinary industry news pertaining to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, click here . May 11, 2011: A committee led by the International Fund for Animal Welfare has presented to the Japanese government a report detailing response procedures and protocols to monitor, evacuate and treat animals left inside the evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Japan has set up a 20-kilometer (12 miles) evacuation zone around the plant, which was damaged during the March 11 earthquake, according to media reports. The committee, which includes representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, contends that well-trained and equipped rescue teams should be allowed to continue to remove animals from the restricted zone as long as the safety protocols it provided are followed. April 22, 2011: Global Animal, an online magazine focusing on animal news and stories, has launched the Global Animal Foundation in an effort to raise money for animals impacted by Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. The nonprofit has already raised $27,000 for the Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support, a coalition of three animal rescue groups in Japan. The three groups in the coalition are: Japan Cat Network, Animal Garden Niigata and HEART-Tokushima. April 22, 2011: The International Fund for Animal Welfare will hold a summit May 2-3 in Japan to develop response procedures and protocols to monitor, evacuate and treat animals contaminated by radiation. Topics will include radiation exposure, animal physiology, animal behavior, animal rescue and evacuation techniques, animal decontamination, animal sheltering and husbandry, wildlife habitat and rehabilitation and human responder safety. The summit committee includes representatives from the Japanese Ministry of Environment, United States Department of Agriculture: APHIS Animal Care and Wildlife Services, United States Army Veterinary Corps, veterinary and toxicology professionals, academicians and IFAW. April 18, 2011: RF Co. Ltd., a digital X-ray company with offices in Japan, is seeking donations from the veterinary community for Japan disaster efforts. Efforts will focus on the damaged Sendai showroom (the building where the showroom was to open requires reconstruction), relief work in Northern Japan and providing autopsy equipment requested by police dentists. For details on these efforts, click here. Donations can be made by calling 800-905-1554 or by email. April 5, 2011: Aribex Inc., which provides handheld X-ray products for the veterinary and medical markets, and Idens Co. Ltd., a maker of practice management system for dental clinics, have partnered to contribute up to 15 X-ray kits for forensic human victim identification use following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The first two kits have already been sent by Idens to Iwate Prefecture, one of the most damaged areas. April 4, 2011: In the American Veterinary Medical Association’s latest podcast, Michael Hannon, DVM, talks about what’s happening in Japan, the risk to animals and people in the United States and how U.S. pet owners can prepare for similar types of disaster. Dr. Hannon is the coordinator of the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps and a member of the AVMA Veterinary Medical Assistance Team. The podcast is available by clicking here. April 1, 2011: The Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA) reported today that it has received a request from the American Veterinary Medical Association and American Humane Association to help support animal relief efforts in Japan. PIDA members are asked to provide either pet products or cash donations or discounts on pet items, mainly those for dogs and cats. Companies interested in supporting the cause should contact Debrah Schnackenberg, senior vice president of emergency services programs for AHA, at 303-925-9470 (office), 303-669-4031 (cell), 303-862-3684 (fax) or email. Click here to read the full story. March 29, 2011: Hill’s Japan reported today that it has donated several tons of pet food for the dogs and cats affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The effort was made in coordination with Colgate-Palmolive, the parent company of Hill’s Pet Nutrition. Colgate-Palmolive also donated $250,000 to the American Red Cross and will match donations made by employees to the Red Cross and Save the Children. March 29, 2011: Pet Sitters International will donate $3,800 to World Vets to assist with disaster relief efforts in Japan. The funds were raised at PSI’s annual charity auction during its 2011 Quest for Excellence convention in New Orleans. In light of the disaster in Japan, half of the auction proceeds originally allotted for PSI’s Early Education Program was reallocated for World Vets, the association reported. The Early Education Program provides age-appropriate pet-related books for elementary school libraries. March 25, 2011: Andrea Levine of Andrea Levine Designs donated an 18-inch gold and yellow sapphire paw print necklace to CharityBuzz.com to auction to benefit World Vets as part of the site’s Aid Japan Online Auction. The auction for the necklace, valued at $1,500, will run until April 7. March 24, 2011: Three animal welfare organizations updated their efforts to support animal relief efforts in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country earlier in March. The Boston-based World Society for the Protection of Animals pledged $150,000 to assist Japan’s Animal Disaster Response Team (ADRT), a group of Japanese animal groups, in providing relief to animals affected by the disasters, and the Washington, D.C.-based American Humane Association (AHA) has provided an “initial” $10,000 in cash and a shipment of animal sheltering supplies to the Japan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Japan Animal Welfare Society, which is also part of the ADRT. Those agencies, along with the Japan Pet Care Association and the Japan Veterinary Medical Association, have formed the Headquarters for the Relief of Animals in Emergencies, AHA reported. Meanwhile, rescuers from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), based in Yarmouth Port, Mass., have mobilized to Japan to conduct an assessment and assist with animal rescue efforts, the IFAW reported. March 22, 2011: The Japan Veterinary Medical Association has opened a bank account to raise funds to support veterinarians helping animals in the afflicted area. Bank name/branch: Mizuho Bank Ltd./Aoyama Branch. Swift code: MHBKJPJT. A/C No.: 648856. Beneficiary’s name: Japan Veterinary Medical Association. Address: Room 2357, Shin-Aoyama Building, 1-1-1 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 107-0062, Japan. March 22, 2011: The American Veterinary Medical Association is reminding pet owners to include pets and livestock in emergency plans in a video they created. The video includes details on how to prepare a disaster kit, such as including special disaster identification tags, and other simple plans and precautions that pet owners can undertake to protect their animals if a disaster occurs. The AVMA has additional disaster preparedness information, available by clicking here. March 21, 2011: Henry Schein Inc. of Melville, N.Y., has established the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. The company will match all donations contributed to this fund by Team Schein Members, and the proceeds will be applied directly to relief efforts. The fund was established through the Henry Schein Cares Foundation, the company’s nonprofit organization. For donation details, click here. March 21, 2011: The Humane Society International reported today that it will provide an initial relief package of $170,000 that includes direct grants, purchase and shipment of emergency supplies and planning and implementation of temporary sheltering facilities in the Japan disaster zone. The most requested assistance by the network of local groups in Japan are dog kennels, animal bowls and collars and food supplies for displaced, surrendered and abandoned animals, according to HSI. Guidance on setting up emergency sheltering operations is also sought. HSI said it is actively soliciting support for its Japan effort on its website. March 21, 2011: Heska Corp. of Loveland, Colo., is asking people to support veterinary relief efforts in Japan by learning more about opportunities for involvement and financial aid. Heska highlighted the nonprofit organization World Vets, one of the winners in Heska’s 2010 Inspiration in Action Contest. World Vets has deployed a first responder assessment team to Japan and is currently mobilizing their resources to set up ongoing support activities. <Home>
