More than a year has already passed since the earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, causing more than 15,000 deaths, billions of dollars in damage, and displacing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.
Many families who lost their homes in the tragedy are now either living in new homes in other areas of the country or in temporary housing facilities built by the local government, and many of the surviving animals have either been reunited with their families or given a new home.
However, there are two serious issues still facing animal rescue efforts in the nuclear evacuation zone, according to veterinary pharmaceutical company Kenoaq. One is that animals still reside inside the evacuation area, and although efforts were made to evacuate these animals, there are still an estimated 400 to 500 dogs and cats roaming the region. The Ministry of the Environment is currently putting together a task force to deal with the situation, with the main goal of evacuating as many animals as possible.
The other issue relates to the number of dogs and cats – all brought in by refugees from Fukushima – currently living at two official shelters as well as a temporary shelter. According to American Humane Association President Dr. Robin Ganzert, who recently returned from a humanitarian mission to help animals in the affected areas, it was shockingly clear that the animal shelters were still overwhelmed.
Tokyo alone experienced an influx of about 3,000 families after the nuclear accident, many of whom are now housed in apartments, which unfortunately do not allow pets. The Tokyo shelter was built to accept the pets belonging to such families, as well as bring in animals from the two shelters in Fukushima for adoption in the city, where the higher population density increased chances of adoption.
The main issue underlying all of these efforts is the fact that many pet owners from Fukushima whose animals are being housed in these shelters are extremely reluctant to surrender ownership. Essentially, the “shelters” are free temporary holding facilities for pets that already have owners.
This tragic situation is unique to the pet owners of Fukushima. Since many of the families are still unsure of when and how they will be able to return to their homes within the nuclear zone, they do not want to “give away” their pets. Because their ancestral land has not been washed away by the tsunami or totally devastated by the quake, they still have hopes of returning to their homes with their four-legged companions.
About 60 to 80 percent of all animals currently being held in the two Fukushima shelters already have owners. Unfortunately, the longer the animals are kept in a shelter environment the greater their mental duress. If the situation continues much longer, the pets may become difficult to place by the time their families finally consent to adoption.
The main issue is convincing humans to “let go” for the sake of their pet’s survival. Yet these people have already experienced so much loss, how is it possible to convince them to “lose” another part of their lives? What would you do – in a natural disaster could you give your pet away in the hopes that they have a better quality of life?
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