No Pet or Their Person Left Behind: Increasing the Disaster Resilience of Vulnerable Groups through Animal Attachment, Activities and Networks

Abstract

Simple SummaryThe potential for reconfiguring pet ownership from a risk factor to a protective factor for natural disaster survival has been recently proposed. But how might this resilience-building proposition apply to members of the community who are already considered vulnerable? This article addresses this important question by synthesizing information about what makes seven particular groups vulnerable, the challenges to increasing their resilience and how animals figure in their lives. It concludes that animal attachment could provide a novel conduit for accessing, communicating with and motivating vulnerable people to engage in resilience building behaviors that promote survival and facilitate recovery.AbstractIncreased vulnerability to natural disasters has been associated with particular groups in the community. This includes those who are considered de facto vulnerable (children, older people, those with disabilities etc.) and those who own pets (not to mention pets themselves). The potential for reconfiguring pet ownership from a risk factor to a protective factor for natural disaster survival has been recently proposed. But how might this resilience-building proposition apply to vulnerable members of the community who own pets or other animals? This article addresses this important question by synthesizing information about what makes particular groups vulnerable, the challenges to increasing their resilience and how animals figure in their lives. Despite different vulnerabilities, animals were found to be important to the disaster resilience of seven vulnerable groups in Australia. Animal attachment and animal-related activities and networks are identified as underexplored devices for disseminating or ‘piggybacking’ disaster-related information and engaging vulnerable people in resilience building behaviors (in addition to including animals in disaster planning initiatives in general). Animals may provide the kind of innovative approach required to overcome the challenges in accessing and engaging vulnerable groups. As the survival of humans and animals are so often intertwined, the benefits of increasing the resilience of vulnerable communities through animal attachment is twofold: human and animal lives can be saved together.

Vulnerable voices on fire preparedness: Policy implications for emergency and community services collaboration

“…Interestingly, Thompson et al. (:24) reframe the increased vulnerability which pet ownership may bring to become a “protective factor for natural disaster survival”. This is because pet ownership is a likely motivation towards taking action towards personal survival.…”

‘I Want to Bring Him from the Aeroplane to Here’: The Meaning of Animals to Children of Refugee or Migrant Backgrounds Resettled in Australia

“…In terms of humans being forced to leave animals in the context of natural disasters, Thompson and others () have suggested that attachment to animals may have an important role to play in facilitating disaster preparedness. Specifically, they suggest that many humans who are forced to leave animals may experience survivor guilt, and that the potential for this may be used as leverage to encourage humans to plan for possible natural disasters, so that both they and their animal companions may seek refuge together.…”

Companion animals and disasters: The role of Human Services Organisations

“…Of particular interest is research showing that addressing the needs of companion animals can provide a means to connect to populations which may typically be difficult to reach (Thompson et al, 2014). For example, companion animals may play a significant role in the lives of the homeless, who may welcome services which provide support or assistance with their companion animals.…”

“…Companion animals can provide a range of physiological and psychological benefits to individuals (Wells, 2009) and can encourage people to prepare for disasters as well as assist people in their recovery from THEORETICAL RESEARCH ORIGINAL ARTICLE disaster (Thompson et al, 2014). For some people, companion animals provided a valuable means of managing stress following the Canterbury earthquakes (Coombs et al, 2015;Potts & Gadenne, 2014).…”