日本における過去 20 年余りに起こった緊急災害時の動物救援活動の変遷
Changes in Japanʼs Animal Rescue Activities during Crises over the Past 20 Years
山口

千津子 （社）日本動物福祉協会 獣医師調査員

Chizuko YAMAGUCHI Veterinary Inspector, Japan Animal Welfare Society[Slide 1] Hello, everybody. I am

were people who said they would not evacuate because

Chizuko Yamaguchi of the Japanthey had pet animals. I did not hear anyone say thisAnimal Welfare Society (JAWS). It is 20

directly, but when some of the people took their dogs

years since I joined JAWS, and today I

to the wharf to evacuate together off the island, thewould like to talk a little about thedogs were not allowed aboard the boats. These pets

rescue activities I have been involved

and owners therefore became separated. However,in during various times of disaster andsome people challenged the rule, saying that their dog

about how things have changed slowly over the course

was a guide dog. Others carried smaller dogs on theirof those years.

backs and covered them with short coats. Somebrought their pet cats in cages, and these animals were

The Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, also known asable to come to mainland Tokyo.

the Hyogo-ken Nanbu Earthquake, marked the ﬁrst time
we conducted animal rescue activities in a highly

After that I went around an evacuation center. At ﬁrst,

organized way. However, even before that time, thebecause all the people were still in a state of some

initial signs of this kind of organization had alreadypanic, they tolerated the presence of animals, saying,

begun to emerge. So I would like to start my talk from

“When we are in trouble, we should help each other.”around that time. Ichida-sensei introduced the details

However, after ﬁve or ten days had passed, and since itof the Great Hanshin Earthquake earlier on, so I will omit

was November, people began coughing and catchingthat from my talk.

colds. Then some people started saying they werecatching colds because of the cats present, because of[Slide 2] To begin with, I would like to talk about animal

the birds, because of the hamsters etc. So the animals

rescue activities in some of the major disasters thatwere blamed for giving people coughs and colds evenhave happened over the past few decades. In Japan,

though they were there with their owners. The

every year disasters of one sort or another, such as

evacuation center was a gymnasium where no privacy

flooding, etc., occur here and there. Each time such a

was possible, and peopleʼs nerves were on edge. Thisdisaster occurs, JAWS dispatches food in small units anddifficult situation drove people to make suchprovides other support. Today, however, I am going tocomments. When we became aware of the problem, we

limit my talk to major disasters.

recruited families to act as foster owners using the mass
media and we temporarily placed the pets in their care.

[Slide 3] As my first example, I will talk about the
volcanic eruption of Mount Mihara on the island of Izu

Also, for the pet animals left on the wharf at Izu Oshima,

Oshima, which took place in 1986. This was the firstpet staff from the local Public Health Center andtime I was personally involved in animal rescue

members of the local fire company transported pet

activities.

food to the island and made sure that the animals were
given food and water. JAWS donated some food, and I

Izu Oshima is an island with a population ofremember that we were told that, if we were donating

approximately 10,000 people. At the time of thefood, wet food was preferred because there were

eruption an order was issued to evacuate the entire

problems with water.

population of the island. But despite the order, there

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Earlier, Ichida-sensei talked about how local

general public. A lot of people had evacuated but only

government authorities, veterinary medical associations

taking a few or no belongings with them and leaving

and animal welfare organizations joined forces to maketheir animals behind. However much they wanted to go

an organization and carry out rescue activities together.

back home to rescue their animals, they were told by

But at the time of the Izu-Oshima disaster, things did

Self Defense Forces, etc., that they were absolutely

not reach that stage. Basically, each group carried out

forbidden to return. Accordingly, local government

its own activities in its own way. For example, the local

officials handed out water and food to pet animals ingovernment conducted its activities independently,

designated places. During the previous Izu-Oshima

while Tokyo Veterinary Medical Association treated pet

disaster and on this occasion too, pet food companies

animals that were able to come to the mainland andgenerously donated food for this purpose, while

JAWS looked after animals at the Evacuation Center andpharmaceutical companies donated veterinary-useorganized temporary fostering, etc. But even so, thedrugs for treating sick and injured animals.

various players did not go as far as organizing theirefforts together. However, the evacuation itself only

A cooperative system began to be built between local

lasted about one month, and that was one reason why

government, veterinary medical associations andwe managed to get through the situation.

animal welfare organizations. Little by little, thesevarious organizations began to work together. For

Since the site of the disaster was a fairly small island, theexample, we took in money from donations gatheredanimals that had been left behind remained on thefrom the general public for use in animal rescue, and we

island. So when the evacuees returned everyone knew

handed it over to the Nagasaki Veterinary Medical

which animals belonged to which owner. Because it

Association to be used for taking care of animals. In

was an island, the animals did not escape into

addition, we provided a small amount of aid whenneighboring prefectures as would have happened inmembers of the Veterinary Medical Association

Tokyo, and I think thatʼs why everything somehow

performed neutering operations on pets being adopted

worked out in this case. Currently, photos from thatby new owners. We also sent food to the Public Healthdisaster can only be obtained from a booklet by special

Center in order to help secure food supplies there. In

arrangement and I have not been able to do that, so I

ways such as these, a tendency for various organizations

have no photos to show you now.

to work together was evident at Mount Unzen, but it
did not develop to the level of formally setting up a

[Slide 4] The next disaster I will talk about is the volcanic

joint Rescue Headquarters or working under an

eruption of Mount Unzenʼs Fugen Peak, which took

integrated system like the one that took shapeplace in 1991. In this disaster, 43 people died after being

following the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.

caught in a pyroclastic ﬂow during the eruption. At thattime also, the various animal welfare organizations took

[Slide 5] As I explained earlier, the Great Hanshincare of pet animals independently. Likewise theEarthquake marked the first time that local

veterinary hospitals kept affected animals

governments, veterinary medical associations andindependently. But when it became apparent that the

animal welfare organizations joined forces to rescue

evacuation was likely to be protracted, I remember that

affected animals in a systematic fashion by setting up

an animal shelter was made in an almost empty piggery

an Animal Rescue Headquarters. On this occasion, thewith a few pigs remaining at one end of the building.

local government staﬀ participated only in an advisory
capacity, but they worked together by attending

Animals aﬀected by the disaster were kept at the shelter

meetings and providing expert input.

for approximately one year. At that time, the areas
where pyroclastic flows had reached and their[Slide 6] Also, until the Great Hanshin Earthquake,surrounding areas were absolutely off limits to theaffected animals were usually taken in by ordinary

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29families or, in the case I mentioned, kept at a renovated

you saw earlier. [Slide 9 ~ Slide 14]

piggery. But in 1995, exclusive facilities for keeping
aﬀected animals were constructed for the ﬁrst time, as[Slide 15] Although there were some other disasters

Ichida-senseiʼs slides showed. In the beginning, a plastic

before this one, I would next like to talk about thegreenhouse was used. [Slide 7] Then a prefabricatederuption of Mount Usu in Hokkaido, which took place infacility was constructed to cope with the protracted

2000. The number of animals we rescued at that timesituation, and animals affected by the disaster werewas 348. We borrowed funds from the Emergency

kept there for about a year and four months. As we

Disaster Animal Rescue Headquarters established after

heard from Ichida-sensei, the number of rescued

the Great Hanshin Earthquake and we used this to set

animals dealt with at these facilities totaled 1,556.

up a Small Animal Rescue Headquarters that brought

Earlier, the ﬁgure was given as 1,548, but this was later

together the Hokkaido Government, veterinary medical

corrected to 1,556.

associations and animal welfare organizations. At the
Small Animal Rescue Headquarters we installed a rescue[Slide 8] At that time, in the same way as previously, aid

facility with some prefab animal houses. For one of the

supplies for the animals donated by many companies

structures, we were allowed to use an existing building

and individuals were gathered and volunteers also

at a construction site, and we added several prefab

registered to take care of the animals. But for thisbuildings alongside this one.

disaster both aid and volunteers were assembled on amuch greater scale than in the case of the two I

When the Rescue Center was being set up, I also went

previously talked about. Earlier, we heard about

there together with Baba-sensei, who has given talks onvolunteers helping other volunteers. Actually, I visitedmany occasions. Under this situation, on my first visit,

both the Kobe Center and Sanda Center and, in thewe went there kitted out as mountain climbers to

Sanda Center, I saw volunteers making and distributing

provide assistance and during our stay we slept on themeals to the animal care volunteers. In the end, theyfloor in sleeping bags. This facility was closed down

were carrying out this work systematically.

after ﬁve months. Since this was in Hokkaido, many of
the animals had been kept either tied up outside or

After the Great Hanshin Earthquake, we received a hugeallowed to roam freely in natural surroundings. So whenamount of monetary donations, and some of thisthey were put in cages, it became a major stress factor

money was left over. As Ichida-sensei told us earlier, thefor them. Quite a high ratio of these animals produced

remaining money was used to fund the establishment

blood in their stools or urine. As the Rescue Centerof the Emergency Disaster Animal Rescue Headquarters

would be operating for a short period we thought that,as a permanent organization to help cope with

if we could create an environment for the animals to be

subsequent disasters. Since Japan is subject to a greatoutside, their stress would be smaller. So we decided tomany natural disasters, virtually anything can happen

build a second facility in a more open style in order toanywhere at any time. So after the Great Hanshin

reduce stress.

Earthquake, we began to prepare for future emergency

30

disaster situations by planning a way to cover the

As for the cats, when one cat infected with feline herpes

expenses of setting up an Animal Rescue Headquarters

virus (also known as Feline Rhinotracheitis) was broughtand dispatching volunteers. Likewise we planned for

to us, even though we paid close attention, the virus

stockpiling equipment such as cages, etc., that could besoon spread and we quickly had to set up an isolation

sent to the sites of disasters as needed.

room.

Since other presenters have already shown us a lot of

Unlike in the case of the Mount Usu eruption, there wasphotographs of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, I will

no pyroclastic flow. However a mudflow did comeonly show you a few now, as they are similar to thosedown the mountain so the people living nearby

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temporarily evacuated by themselves. In some cases

the country, the people have their own ways of living

they left their animals behind. These places included

with pet animals, so it is necessary to consider regionalsome dangerous spots, so the Hokkaido Veterinary

characteristics.

Medical Association asked the Self-Defense Forces,“Please let us rescue the animals left behind; we will

[Slide 16] This is the eruption of Mount Usu. The photo

follow the SDF vehicles and if suddenly ordered to getshows a view towards the crater from a park in Toyako

out we will leave immediately.” However, this request

Onsen Town. While looking around the Evacuation

was refused. Instead, the Police, Fire Department andCenters, we came across a person who was lodging in a

Local Government staﬀ provided the dogs and cats left

wagon-type private van together with two Shih Tzu

behind in the general restricted areas with food anddogs. We asked, “Why arenʼt you staying inside thewater.

evacuation center?” Their reply was, “There is a lot of
information there so I am staying in the car park of the

At this time, we received many relief supplies andevacuation center so I can get that information. But, on

donations from corporations and members of thethe other hand, I donʼt want other people to be upset

general public. Volunteers also gradually arrived at theby my dogs barking. If I stay inside the center, that issite. Earlier we heard a story that in Kobe there werebound to happen. Thatʼs why Iʼm staying in the car

numerous calls to the Rescue Center every day frompark.”

newspaper reporters always asking the same questions,and the staff had trouble dealing with them. But in[Slide 17] This is a simple doghouse made from a

Hokkaido, we had one person who was good withcardboard box standing next to the gymnasium. Several

computers, and this person acted as a sort ofdogs were kept tied up outside and their owners took

communications oﬃcer by trying to send out as muchcare of them. [Slide 18] Cats were also housed in

information as possible from our side, including daily

cardboard boxes. [Slide 19] This prefab was part of theinformation about the animals at the Rescue Center.

Animal Rescue Center. Only this building was preexisting at the site. The other prefabs were newly

Around this time, we also built a rescue facility in Dateerected surrounding it.

City, on the opposite side of the mudflow from the
Rescue Headquarters. No earthquakes had shaken Date

[Slide 20] This photo shows the inside of a kennel

at the time of the eruption so the people of the city

building. Since it was the ﬁrst building to open, we were

were able to go about their lives quite normally. But as aonly able to carry out rearing management in cages.

result, they were unable to imagine how bad things

There were more medium-size dogs than small dogs,

were in the area that had been stuck by the disaster.

and they became stressed in their cages.

Also, because Hokkaido is so spacious, in contrast to
cities such as Tokyo and Kobe, when dogs are taken for[Slide 21] This is a cat. The cats were kept in cages

walks in Hokkaido, their droppings tend to be left whereplaced on the top and middle shelves. Towards the end

they fall. When we asked the volunteers to walk theof the period the volunteers were coming in on a day-dogs, they also left the dog droppings on the ground.

to-day rotating basis. Although the cages were a little

When it is only a single dog being walked, even if

small, the volunteers tried hard to make it possible for

droppings are left behind, the mess is not very

the cats to live as close as possible to their normal

conspicuous and can be ignored. However, when many

lifestyle. For example, they joined three dog cages

dogs are walked along the same roads and all leave

together so that the cats had enough space to performtheir droppings behind, the amount grows to the pointup and down movements, etc. Everyone worked very

where local people will begin to complain and this is

hard.

what happened. In response, we organized a dropping
cleanup group to gather up the mess. In each region of[Slide 22] This photo shows some people coming to theWorkshop Ⅰ

Crisis Management When Disaster Strikes

31Rescue Center to pick up food for delivery to thebelonging to the various Tokyo Veterinary Medical

animals remaining inside the designated evacuation

Association members. But unlike the one-montharea. [Slide 23] Moreover, veterinarians treated animals

emergency period of Izu Oshima, at Miyake-jima therethat were sick or injured.

was continuous venting of dangerous gasses, so people
were unable to return home for an extended period. As[Slide 24] This is the second Rescue Center. Originally,

the evacuation became more prolonged, we had athis was a ground for carrying out competitive

prefab facility built on land belonging to the Tokyo

exhibitions of cattle, etc., but we were given permission

Metropolitan Government, which also carried out theto use it following the disaster. We decided to arrange

construction of the facility. A form of dogʼs playgroundthings in this style as we considered it would be less

was also created using public donations. The Animal

stressful for the dogs than being placed in cages. [Slide

Rescue Headquarters operated for about one year.

25] We also looked for new owners for those dogs
whose owners we were unable to trace.

On this occasion as well, before the evacuees could
return to the island, various construction projects had[Slide 26] The next rescue eﬀort I would like to tell you

to be completed. So there was a steady flow ofabout was the volcanic eruption on Miyake-jima Island

construction industry workers and administrators

in 2000. This was the disaster I was personally mosttraveling between the mainland and Miyake-jima. They

deeply involved in. Like Izu Oshima, Miyake-jima is partalso fed and watered the animals that had been leftof the Izu Group. In the case of Miyake-jima, thebehind on the island, which were cats for the most part.

population was in the order of 3,000 people. The

There was also one case where they rescued a dog that

number of rescued animals was 253. There were people

had been left behind and we took care of it.

who evacuated voluntarily at the very beginning but,
according to my memory, the full evacuation of the

By the time the evacuees were able to return to theisland was ordered in September. Just as before, as withisland, because the Miyake-jima climate is warm and

Izu Oshima, when the full evacuation took place,cats have considerable reproductive power, the catsanimals would not be allowed to be carried on boardthat had been left behind had produced kittens. So

the evacuation vessels. But on this occasion the Tokyo

before the residents returned, staff of Tokyo

Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Veterinary

Metropolitan Government caught as many of the cats

Medical Association told us to collect animal cages andas possible and had them spayed or neutered.

send them to the island so that residents could
evacuate together with their pet animals. This time, all

Needless to say, following the volcanic eruption on

the evacuation vessels were able to take on animals.

Miyake-jima, corporations and individuals donatedJust by witnessing this incident, I could see that things

large amounts of relief supplies and many volunteers

had really changed in the time between the Izu Oshima

gathered to help out. Because I was working as an

and Miyake-jima disasters.

assistant manager of the Rescue Center in charge ofvolunteers, I was acutely aware that the concentration

32

This time as well, the Tokyo Veterinary Medicalof volunteers arrived only on holidays, but not many

Association, animal welfare organizations and the Tokyo

would come to the Rescue Center on ordinary working

Metropolitan Government got together to set up anddays. So if we had tried to operate the Rescue Center

operate an Animal Rescue Headquarters. I heard that byusing only volunteers, we would have faced athis time, animal rescue was included the Tokyo

manpower shortage most of the time. The animals ofMetropolitan Governmentʼs regional disastercourse need care 365 days a year so this meant weprevention plan, so the lending out of cages was inwould be unable to provide them with suﬃcient care.

keeping with the plan. In the beginning, the rescued

So I keenly felt the importance of securing enoughanimals were taken care of separately at the facilities

volunteers and their training.

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Another thing was that, when owners who had

etc.

entrusted us with their pets came to visit the Rescue
Center to see their pets, especially in the case of dogs,[Slide 33] This photo shows the inside of the kennel

the animalsʼ attention would be focused exclusively onhouse. [Slide 34] The dogs here go for walks too.

their owners. However kind the volunteers may have

Veterinarians who were members of Tokyo Veterinary

been to an animal, or however joyfully the animals

Medical Association visited the center to check up on

played with the volunteers, as soon as the pets

the animals on a day-to-day basis.

recognized their owners, they took no further interest in
the volunteers. Furthermore, after the owners had spent[Slide 35] As for the cattery, at ﬁrst the cats were kept intime with their pets and departed again, the dogs

the cages you saw earlier. But if they remain constantly

would be very reluctant to enter the kennel no matterin cages, cats become progressively more stressed.

how hard we tried to persuade them. After witnessing

Many of the veterinarians who came to the Rescue

such scenes, I thought it would be better if we could

Center were skillful, so guided by Sato-sensei, who willrealize an animal evacuation center in a style allowing

be speaking later, they built a catsʼ playground where

owners to take care of their pets on their own. The

the cats could associate together and play around.

veterinary medical associations or animal welfare

Some cats however did have a tendency to fight andorganizations would then act as support by providing

consequently had a tough time. These cats had to be

medical treatment, offering consultation on animal

excluded from the playground. But gradually more andcare, etc., or looking for new owners for those pets

more cats returned to their ownersʼ homes so thewithout an identified owner. I believe such a system

number at the Rescue Center decreased and thewould be better mentally for dogs and cats as well as

remaining cats were able to stay in the playground for a

for their owners too.

longer time.

[Slide 27] The evacuated animals were initially entrusted[Slide 36] When we built this playground, the volunteers

to veterinary hospitals and to the Tokyo Metropolitan

helped us a lot. In order to make the various facilities,

Governmentʼs Center. [Slide 28] After that, they were

we used waste materials. As the Rescue Center was next

moved to the prefab Rescue Center, which wasdoor to a garbage incineration plant, we had access to a

designed to provide long-term accommodation. [Slide

lot of discarded items including some totally brand-new

29] This Center was constructed with a dog kennel on

and usable products. We acquired many things in thisthe ﬁrst ﬂoor and a cattery on the second ﬂoor. This wasway. The carpeting for these shelves and other things

very similar in style to the Rescue Centers operated atseen here all came from the garbage plant.

the time of the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
[Slide 37] The next disaster rescue I was involved in was[Slide 30] This photo shows a dog in our charge looking

the 2006 Chuetsu Earthquake, also known as the Mid-out from inside the paddock. [Slide 31] Cats such as thisNiigata Prefecture Earthquake. This was also quite aone were kept in lofts built over dog cages that werelarge earthquake, and because a major flood disaster

handmade by volunteers. They went to a store selling

had also occurred not long before, which had weakened

wood board, bought the materials and madethe ground in many places, the damage was

everything by hand. In the case of the cat cages,

correspondingly greater. A total of 67 people were killed

although the lofts were narrow, cats could go up there

in this disaster, and the number of rescued animals wasto sleep. We wanted to allow the cats to be able enjoy

267. Here, again, the Niigata Veterinary Medical

their own original lifestyles as much as possible.

Association and several animal welfare organizations
set up an Animal Rescue Headquarters with support[Slide 32] Volunteers carried out all kinds of workfrom the Emergency Disaster Animal Rescue

including washing, walking the dogs, preparing meals,

Headquarters. This Headquarters took care of animals

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33evacuated with their owners at Niigata Prefectureʼswith which permission was given did differ from one

Animal Control Center and at gymnasiums. The animals

local authority to another. Some cities gave the OK

were placed in cages installed at these locations andfaster than others. In return, the Animal Rescue

their owners took care of them there, while

Headquarters supported the appropriate keeping ofveterinarians made their rounds and food and otherpets by drawing up a set of keeping roles. Of course,

things were donated.

spaying and neutering operations were conductedusing public donations. Also, in and around the disaster

Also, of the tents set up by the SDF, some tents were set

area, most people had been living in stand-alone

up for use by disaster victims accompanied by theirhousing rather than collective housing. So Niigata

pets.

Prefecture, the Niigata Veterinary Medical Associationand the animal welfare organizations performed theseAt this site, there was one tragedy. When I was talking

support activities in order to prevent pet owners fromearlier about Hokkaido, I mentioned the case of an

causing trouble to their neighbors due to their lack ofowner who lodged in his own vehicle together with his

experience at living in collective housing such as

two Shih Tzu dogs. In Niigata, as Yamazaki-sensei told

temporary housing facilities.

you this morning, another dog owner who was lodging
in his car together with his dog died of what is popularly[Slide 39] This photograph shows a prefectural highway

known as “economy class syndrome”. A small car is ain Uonuma City. The road has collapsed and the surface

very cramped space in which to sleep and, as happened

has been broken apart and riddled with long cracks.

in this case, can result in a tragic death. When we think
about it, we can see that such things are apt to occur[Slides 40 ~ 44] The Evacuation Center in Nagaoka City

when there arenʼt any places where owners can entrust

was housed in a gymnasium. These photos show a pet

their pets. So if we donʼt rescue such animals, it adds up

house built beside the Evacuation Center. This was theto the same thing as not rescuing people. Earlier, it was

scene inside the pet house. Cats were kept in cages andsaid that “to save pet animals is to save people”.

their owners took care of them. The food was donatedKeeping in mind the incident I just noted, I think we canand the Niigata Veterinary Medical Association took

all realize that if pet animals are not saved, their owners

consultations concerning the treatment, illness andcould also die.

health management of these animals.

[Slide 38] In the context of the Chuetsu Earthquake, you[Slide 45] This person evacuated with their dog, called

may remember Yamakoshi Village, which became

Dai-chan, by putting the dog house on the back of asubmerged after landslides, so that the only access totruck and transporting it to a school playground. [Slide

the village was by helicopter. As a result, Niigata

46] This is Dai-chan.

Prefectural Government staﬀ traveled in SDF helicopters
to rescue some animals and provide others with food

[Slide 47] When people evacuate in vehicles, the entire

and water.

family including their pets can evacuate together. Thisshows a scene of a family that has evacuated together

There was also one new development in Niigata relatingwith their pet living in an SDF tent.

to the keeping of pets in temporary housing. At the34

time of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, when people

This shows Niigata Prefecture staff delivering food to

moved into temporary housing they were not informed

animals left behind in Yamakoshi Village in cooperation

officially or clearly that it was OK to keep their petwith the SDF. Even when visiting Yamakoshi byanimals with them. But at the time of the Chuetsu

helicopter, people had to walk a considerable distance

Earthquake, people were told it was OK to keep petfrom the heliport. I also joined them after it became

animals in all temporary housing, although the timing

possible to make the journey half way to the site by car.

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Crisis Management When Disaster Strikes

We had to walk along a steep mountain trail. I could

handed out questionnaires to the aﬀected pet owners.

imagine it must have been really hard work to walk that

According to the responses, and in answer to thetrail carrying heavy things.

question, “What did you do about your pet?” 59.0% of
respondents answered, “Took them to the Evacuation[Slide 48] In Yamakoshi Village there were a lot of cats.

Center without question,” 6.6% answered, “Took them

They were fed on food carried in by volunteers. As forto the Evacuation Center after checking the situationwater, Yamakoshi has plenty of clean spring water, so

there,” and 23.0% answered, “Left them at home.” So,

the cats could easily ﬁnd a drink anywhere. Due to thewell over half of all owners took their pets to theabundance of spring water, Yamakoshi had a thriving

Evacuation Center without hesitation.

Nishikigoi (ornamental “brocaded” carp) breeding
industry. Niigata Prefectural Government staff also

To the question, “How is your pet living at the

rescued cats when they found them, brought them

Evacuation Center?” the most common response was “itdown from the mountains and searched for theiris being kept in an outside tent,” followed by “being

owners. This photo shows one of the rescued cats being

kept outside the Evacuation Center,” “living together

kept in the Rescue Center. There were many pet owners

with owner,” and “being kept in a cage.” Moreover, as

whose houses were destroyed, and these people asked

well as in tents, some animals were kept in their ownersʼ

us to take care of their cats and dogs.

cars or in corridors, etc.

[Slide 49] This photograph shows the interior of a prefab

To the question, “How would you like to live with yourhouse set up behind a veterinary clinic to keep rescued

pet in future?” the most popular answer was, “We wish

pet animals.

to live together in the Evacuation Center.” As was
expected, owners did not want to be separated from

[Slide 50] Because in this rural area, most cats are

their pets.

allowed to come and go in and out of their owners
homes freely, when the earthquake struck many of the[Slide 57] Moving on to look at the current situation

cats were not at home. This led to an organized eﬀort toregarding government policy, the Regional Disastersearch for those cats. [Slide 51] When winter set in, thePrevention Plan (as based on the DisasterYamakoshi area has a lot of snow, and so the police also

Countermeasures Basic Act) stipulates items concerning

helped with the search. Even in the snow, in order toanimal protection and control measures in times of

capture cats and get them to their owners, it wasdisaster, such as installing an Animal Rescue

necessary to set traps.

Headquarters, rescuing injured animals, searching forlost animals, etc. At present, 79 local government[Slide 53] Support for keeping animals in temporary

authorities have such measures in place.

housing was carried out in this way. The animals were
kept inside, vaccinations were given, breeding was[Slide 58] As another measure to help in times of

prevented, each animal was tagged with its ownerʼsdisaster, the government also promotes the clear

address, and the owners formed an association. In

identification of pet owners by means of pet micro-

addition, experts provided support.

chipping, etc.

[Slide 54] This photo shows some temporary housing[Slide 59~61] Tokyo Metropolitan Government also

units.

includes animal rescue in the Tokyo Regional Disaster
Prevention Plan. In the case of Tokyo, the plan is divided[Slide 55] Also, a “handover” meeting was held.

into an ʻearthquake disasterʼ volume and ʻotherdisastersʼ volume.

[Slide 56] After the Chuetsu Earthquake disaster, weWorkshop Ⅰ

Crisis Management When Disaster Strikes

35[Slide 62] This slide shows Tokyo Metropolitan

we also need to engage in cooperation with those

Governmentʼs animal protection system. The Animal

specialized departments that have responsibility for

Rescue Headquarters, Tokyo Veterinary Medical

both people and animals, such as those that provide

Association, animal welfare organizations, the Japan Pet

medical treatment for people, medical treatment for

Food Association, volunteers, and the Tokyo

animals, public health, human and animal welfare andMetropolitan Government Bureau of Social Welfare andepidemic prevention, as well as the Fire Department,

Public Health cooperate in performing animal rescue

Police Department, Red Cross, etc. In my opinion, unless

activities. In addition, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police

we cooperate with these various parties and set up

Department, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency,

teams, we cannot respond appropriately in disasterthe Construction Bureau, the Ministry of thesituations in ways that allow us to save people andEnvironment and the Ministry of Health, Labour andanimals.

Welfare provide assistance. The layout of the system isshown in this ﬂow chart.

Of course, in order to cooperate eﬀectively, a manual isnecessary. In addition, volunteer registration and[Slide 63] As for the response when a disaster strikes,

education and training for volunteers are needed. As ITokyo Metropolitan Government has created asaid earlier, the numbers of volunteers that gather canframework to protect animals by responding tovary enormously on diﬀerent days. When there are too

requests from evacuation centers to accept animals

many, they form a crowd. Also, people who keep dogs

whose owners are as yet unknown by setting up

at home have a tendency to approach other dogs

evacuation places for animals while animal protection

without proper caution which can result in themgroups, medical treatment groups and the Animalgetting bitten during their volunteer activities. We haverescue Headquarters are exchanging information. In

had such cases. So we need to get volunteers to registerorder for this to be effective, the cooperation andand then give them education and training.

support of animal welfare promoters and concernedorganizations is indispensible. [Slide 64] In Tokyo, theEarlier, a color-coded system was in use, and when I

wards are designated as independent districts. Since

encountered it, I thought it was a very good system.

each ward, city, town and village manages its own
evacuation centers, the approach to taking in pets andIn the interest of coping in times of emergency, it isconducting appropriate management will differ

important to implement measures from normal times.

according to the local authority concerned. There are

Earlier, Ichida-sensei mentioned about securing land,

places where measures are still at the study stage, as

which is important, and storing equipment and foodshown in this slide.

are important considerations too.

[Slide 65~66] In the case of Shinjuku Ward, a written

Owners should keep their pets in daily life with someagreement has already been made. [Slide 67~68]This isconsciousness for the possibility that they might needa pamphlet for ordinary residents of the ward produced

to make an evacuation one day. They should carry out

for use in times of emergency. [Slide 69]These efforts

proper health management and training of their pets.

are also being introduced gradually in the press.

The problem of people keeping large numbers of pet
animals was mentioned earlier. In this context, I would[Slide 70] Considering from my own personal

like to ask owners to only keep as many pets as theyexperience up to now, naturally, I believe that it is an

could evacuate with together and only keep the kinds

absolute requirement that animal rescue be included inof pet that can accompany.

regional disaster prevention plans. But since this is both36

an animal and a human problem, in addition to setting

A while ago in Tokyo, somebody was discovered

up an Animal Rescue Headquarters in times of disaster,

keeping about 50 poisonous snakes secretly. Imagining

Workshop Ⅰ

Crisis Management When Disaster Strikes

what might happen if these snakes were to escape from

In times of emergency and disaster, animals and people

their containers, I would really like to urge people not togather in one place. If by some mischance, a zoonotic

keep such animals. I am particularly concerned thatdisease breaks out it will spread. If infectious diseases ofsome people may be keeping poisonous snakes thatanimals occur, although they may not be infectious to

produce venom for which no antidote is available.

people - for example, feline viral rhinotracheitis (FVR),
which I mentioned earlier - they will spread among

We must educate people about such thing on a routine

animals quickly. So it is important to carry out healthbasis. I would like people to raise and manage their pets

management on a routine basis, and of course, training

while always bearing in mind how they might take careis important too, as are spaying and neutering. Whenof these family members in times of emergency orthese things are not done, if a non-neutered maledisaster, and whether or not they will be able to protect

animal is close to a female emitting an attractive smell,

their pets.

the male can become jumpy and may bite thevolunteers. Such cases have occurred. Even in the case[Slide 71] This is a checklist for pet owners compiled byof cats, this kind of thing occurs, so it is very important

JAWS. It stresses that it is better for owners to evacuate

to carry out these kinds of operations.

accompanied by their pets. In the same way as we makeemergency kits for people, pet owners should prepare

I appear to have gone a little over my time, but thisemergency kits for their animals. In the ﬁrst place, it says

completes my talk. Thank you very much for listening.

you should insert a photograph of your pet. This is
made as a transparent bag. If your pet is a puppy, its
face will change after a year has passed, so use a photoas recent as possible. Also, it is nice if you can use aphoto showing you and your pet together. This can beof help in case a search needs to be made if you
become separated from your pet.
[Slide 72] This is the rear of the checklist. It lists thethings you should prepare for your pet, such as foodand water for ﬁve days, toilet processing equipment, alead, and various other things.
On the right side there is a space for listing information
on your pet. This health information can be extremely
useful. For example, what kind of diseases does your pet
have? Even if it is currently cured, if your pet has had
urethral calculus in the past the condition may return
when your pet is exposed to stress. So if we have suchinformation, we can take care of the animal withreference to its medical history while it is in our keeping.
Also, information about vaccinations is important. Whenwas your dog vaccinated against ﬁlariasis? Was your cat
checked for viruses or not? When this information is
given, the party keeping the pet feels easier and theowners too are able to rest assured that their pets arebeing well cared for.

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37

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Crisis Management When Disaster Strikes

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Crisis Management When Disaster Strikes

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Crisis Management When Disaster Strikes

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Crisis Management When Disaster Strikes

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Crisis Management When Disaster Strikes