新潟県中越大震災での動物救済活動
Animal Rescue Activities after the 2004 Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake
新潟県 新発田食肉衛生検査センター 所長・川上 直也

Naoya KAWAKAMI, Director,
Niigata Prefecture Shibata Meat Inspection Center○ Naoya Kawakami

Everyday, weather permitting, a group of dogs,

Hello everybody. I have come here from an extremely

including my own dog, get together along the shoreline

snowy Niigata Prefecture. Actually, I was planning toof Aoyama in central Niigata City, which is about a 10

travel by plane this morning, but because of a heavy

minute walk from my home. Today it is snowing so thatsnow warning my staff prompted me to go earlier. So

won’t be possible, but when spring comes around the

I came yesterday and was thankfully able to enjoy aplace attracts large numbers of people with their dogs -relaxed morning.

people who have all kinds of feelings.

I feel greatly humbled to hear the talk about theFirst of all, let me tell you a story about a man whose

destruction in Kobe at the time of the Great Hanshin-wife had died leaving him alone. One day he took a

Awaji Earthquake of 1995. Also, in the Great East Japancasual look inside a pet shop, where he saw a big dog

Earthquake that struck on March 11, 2011, a greatthat was unsold. When he saw the dog he was unable tomany people were killed and many others had theirtake his eyes off the animal and he thought to himself,

day-to-day lives destroyed. I would like to take this“Ah, I’ll have to keep this dog.” So he bought the dog

opportunity to extend my condolences to all those who

and took it home with him. Then he took the dog for awere affected by the disaster.

walk by the seashore, where many other people withdogs gathered, and he joined in with these people

In October 2004, I personally experienced the Niigata

and began to talk with them. Until that time, he had

Prefecture Chuetsu Earthquake. This was the first

formed a habit of drinking alcohol every day, starting

magnitude 7-class earthquake to have struck Japanin the morning. But now, he no longer drinks and hesince the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Although

exercises everyday.

the scale of these quakes and the damage differed invarious respects, the people who went through theseHere’s another story. There was a woman who wasdisasters must have experienced similar thoughts andliving alone, separately from her husband, so she could

feelings.

nurse her aged parents. That woman also said, “I feellonely and lost without a dog.”

At that time, in the capacity of Animal Welfare andHygiene Section Chief at the Environmental Health

Here is what a TV announcer told me, “We can’t keep

Division of the Niigata Prefectural Government, mydogs in my condominium building, but when I comeposition in charge of animals meant that I was doing

here I can meet dogs. It’s a joy to come along and talkwork directly involved with animals. I learned a number

with acquaintances down here by the seaside.”of things that taught me how I should have acted at thetime of that disaster and how I should act in the event

I believe that, to a considerable extent, animals save usof a future disaster. So today, I would like to talk mainly

when we save animals.

about my work at the time of the earthquake.

150

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

Here is a photograph of a dog. The owner brought thisduring and after the Chuetsu Earthquake disaster. The

dog with him when he travelled to Niigata in Augustearthquake struck on October 23, 2004. At that time,

as a tourist. He tied the dog up to the outside of his

I took part in animal rescue activities in the context ofcar but somebody must have released the dog and it

my work as Chief of Animal Welfare and Hygiene. Thisdisappeared. The owner searched high and low for theactivity, which involved the helicopter rescue of pets

dog but could not find it. He placed an advertisement inthat had been left behind in the village of Yamakoshi

the newspaper and even came back every week to theafter all the residents had been evacuated, attracted

place where he had tied up the animal to resume his

considerable media attention.

search, but to no avail. Niigata Prefecture is a place thathas very heavy snowfall every year, so released dogs

Regarding the response to the 2004 earthquake,and cats cannot survive the winter outside. However,in the regional disaster prevention plan that was in

the following year, a report came in about a dog similar

force at the time, the subject of animal rescue was notto the one that had gone missing. The public healthmentioned. So this was the first time such activities had

center sent staff out to take it into their protection.

been conducted in Niigata in such a disaster.

They were unable to capture the dog no matter how
hard they tried. At that point, we discovered that this

I took up my post at the Niigata Prefectural Office indog had been visiting a certain house every day in

April 2004, and in July of that year Niigata sufferedorder to eat the cat food put out there. The householder

a natural disaster due to heavy rain. My involvement

took this photo of the dog and showed it to us, saying,in animal rescue activities began with the activities“This is the dog!” The householder had also renovatedconducted in response to this heavy rain disaster.

the front porch of the house so that he could provide
protection for the dog over the winter. The dog was

On July 13, 2004 many people had to evacuate theireventually returned to its original owner after eleven

homes as local rivers were inundated by floodwater.

months. He was extremely happy to get his dog back.

Scenes of the disaster were shown on television. I waswatching TV casually at home, and saw someone with

There are many people who were separated from theira pet at an evacuation center. The person was telling

pets by the recent earthquake disaster, and I am sure

the reporter that it was taking a long time for meals

they have similar feelings.

to be delivered. I realized that pet food must be inshort supply so I ordered pet food to be distributed toHere you can see the national ratios of dog and cat

the evacuation centers. Also, I could imagine that pet

owners in Japan. The data comes from the Pet Foodowners would have trouble trying to improvise pet

Association. The number of dogs and cats is now

toilets, so I also arranged for the distribution of disposal

greater than the number of children under 15 years

bags for pet waste.

old. That shows the extent to which pets and people areliving together.

In Niigata Prefecture, a succession of major disasters
has occurred in recent years. In July of last year a

In my own home we are keeping a three-year-old

similar heavy rain disaster occurred only a short

dog that we got from the public health center. Now

distance away from the site of the 2004 earthquake.

he sleeps together with us in the next futon. For all I

Given that such disasters do occur repeatedly, it isknow this may be a problem from an infectious diseaseobvious that we need to be prepared ahead of time.

standpoint, but this dog has definitely become a full
member of the family. We have to consider this sort ofThis slide shows the damage situation at that time.

thing as well.

Here is where we took the animals in our care. Starting
such activities for the first time required a lot of effort.

Now, I would like to talk to you about my experiences

To carry them out as administrative measures we had

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012151

to persuade our superiors to seek permission from theour animal protection and control centers (small-scale

top prefectural government official. I was asked, “Howfacilities annexed onto the public health centers) at fivelong will this take?” but I was unable to give a precise

locations throughout the prefecture.

answer. Fortunately, my boss gave me permission
anyway. He said, “I understand. It’s OK.” In the case of

I also ordered that our staff learn how to perform

a flood disaster, even if your own home isn’t washedspaying and neutering surgery (or at least simple

away, it takes time to clean up all the mud from local

surgical operations), because, up to that time, theirhouses and to make new roads, etc. We also supplied

main job had only been to handle complaints about

relief provisions on this occasion.

animals or pick up unwanted or nuisance animals.

At that time, I was an executive board member of

We drew up a budget for medical equipment and drugs,

Niigata Prefecture Veterinary Medical Association.

installed them at the facilities, and made them available

So I asked the prefecture’s animal hospitals for theirfor use at any time. I never imagined that they would

assistance and also gained support from the Veterinary

be called upon that very same year, so it was very good

Medical Association.

that these preparations had been made. I realized that,
if you immediately respond when you notice a potential

This was when I first heard about the existence of theneed, when the issue arises it will always be resolved.

Headquarters for the Relief of Animals in Emergencies
in Tokyo. Also, the Japan Society for the Prevention of

Next, I would like to talk about the Chuetsu Earthquake

Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA) called me and asked, “Areitself. This is my home. At present, I am living in Niigata

you short of anything?” I replied, “We can hardly afford

City but my family home is located in the countryside,

to buy any pet food as we have no money.” In response,

close to the epicenter of this earthquake. This is a

the Pet Food Association sent us a lot of pet food, whichphotograph of the house taken the morning after the

we stored at the evacuation centers and also distributed

earthquake struck. Had the quake happened at night

to people with pets in the disaster area.

it would have been a much bigger disaster for us.
As it happened, the quake struck at about five in theNow, I would like to talk about our temporary pet

afternoon. At the time, my younger brother was living

housing project. In Niigata Prefecture, an Animalin the United States but was temporarily back in Japan.

Welfare Center will be completed this April at long last.

We were waiting for him to come home that evening

After the earthquake disaster we had no place to keep

and had prepared a big meal for the occasion. Thenpets, so we installed cages in hallways and kept animals

we felt the first tremor. At first, I didn’t understandthere. We arranged for owners to be able to meet theirwhat was happening because the quake was so big.

pets on holidays. There was no cathouse either and,The Shinkansen bullet trains stopped running, so my

as it was summertime, we had to gather the cat cages

brother was unable to come home. He had to return

into one room where we had urgently installed an air

to America without meeting us. At the moment whenconditioner to keep the cats cool.

the earthquake struck, my father and I were outside
the house but my mother and my wife were inside, so

Also, in order to prepare for future disasters, we

I desperately brought them outside. My wife shouted,

have built up a stockpile of pet food, which has“Rescue the dog!” as he was still inside the house. I

been donated in abundance. When I visited the top

went back in and brought the dog out.

prefectural government official to seek permission to152

create this stockpile, he was very impressed. He gave

After that, we lived outside for three days. We could not

his permission while commenting that, “the era has

stay inside because the house was shaking and it waschanged and now is the time to build a disaster-use

very frightening. We put some chairs out in the garden

stockpile for animals.” I also gave him a report about

so we could rest there. At night it was cold, so we slept

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

in our cars with the heaters on.

Our biggest problem was the toilet. Without runningwater, we couldn’t use the flush toilet. We were forced

During that time the prefectural office was constantly

to use a corner of the garden as an impromptu toilet

try ing to call me on my mobile phone but the

space.

connection would cut out quickly. Just when I
thought we were connected, the call would cut off.

At that time, a neighbor told us that the government

To communicate via telephone can be rather difficult

office was going to give us rice balls and asked, “Howin times of disaster, so I contacted people by e-mail.

many would you like?” We had already bought enoughWe had four mobile phones in our family. I madefood so we declined the offer. Later, the neighbor told

use of them one by one. The e-mail was able to reachus that the rice balls didn’t come.

recipients immediately. Now, at the meat sanitation
inspection center where I work, the emergency

In times of disaster, aid simply does not arrive quickly,

communications list includes e-mail addresses as aso we must prepare what we can on our own.

matter of course. It has been decided that we should
contact each other by e-mail because telephones are

On the third day after we were evacuated, thinking

unreliable in an emergency.

that our family life would disintegrate if we stayed inan evacuation center, we decided to get away. Based

The content of the messages I received from theon information I had received by e-mail from theprefectural office after the earthquake was an inquiry

prefectural office we were able to get to Niigata City.

into how we would run our animal rescue activities.

We initially headed toward Niigata City along a route

At the disaster site we were not able to monitor TV orthat was difficult to navigate, but after we had crossedradio news so we were unaware of the situation in theone mountain, we found that the people on the othersurrounding area. My thoughts were that the damage

side were carrying on their lives as usual. Restaurants

might extend over a wide area, that I might lose my job,

were open and food was being sold in the normal way.

and that I may not be able to feed my family, etc.

However, other people in the disaster area had noknowledge of this situation. We had left in cars packed

When the disaster happened, I was unable to ask mywith blankets and all the food we had, but when weboss for approval to act, or obtain verbal permission

saw how normal the situation on the other side of thefrom the top prefectural government official. Yet,

mountain was, we felt safe. So, we ate the food we hadsomebody had to make decisions. So, I instructedbrought along with us on the way, and returned to ourrelief workers to adopt the same responses we hadcity home in Niigata City.

used when dealing with flood disasters. Just after theearthquake occurred we had nothing at home, including

The Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters was

food. I went to the nearest town the next morning,established inside Niigata Prefectural Office. The

where convenience stores and agricultural cooperative

Governor ordered this on the day of the earthquake inmarkets were open as a matter of urgency. Food was

response to the unusual situation. Arriving at our homebeing sold so I bought as much as possible and alsoin Niigata City, we were relieved to find that it had notbought a charcoal stove and charcoal to take home.

sustained any damage. When I finally watched TV at

We had a portable gas burner, but because the interior

home I understood the scale of the disaster for the firstof the house was messed up and the aftershocks weretime and realized that the people in the disaster arealarge, we felt unable to enter the house to bring thishad no clear information. They were living in a situationout. My parents said, “We can’t wash our face or brushin which they didn’t know what was going on or what

our teeth without hot water.” Therefore, we tried towould happen in the future.

cope by heating water on the charcoal burner.
Damage tends to have similar effects in all disasters.

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012153

Access to the disaster area was completely cut off. Even

facility is used as an evacuation center the authorization

JR (Japan Railways) train services were suspended andrests with the manager of the facility. For example, if aa Shinkansen bullet train had also been derailed.

school is designated as an evacuation center, the school
principal has the authority to decide whether or not toThis place is called Myoken-zeki (the site of a weirpermit pets. For this reason, it is difficult to get everyon the Shinano River). Here a landslide buried a car

evacuation center to accept pets.

occupied by a mother and her two children while
they were traveling along the road. Eventually, after

To be prepared for disasters, we must give the widest

72 hours of excavation, the rescue workers werepossible advance publicity about evacuation centersable to save one of the children, a 2-year-old boy. A

that will accept people with pets.

police dog named Lester found the boy. We watchedthis drama unfold on TV at the prefectural office. The

This is a photograph showing an owner and dog

entire staff was watching while praying for the boy’s

evacuated together and living together at the entrancelife to be saved, and at the moment he was pulled fromof an evacuation center. The owner would not enter a

the rubble, the whole place erupted into cheers androom space but instead laid out a futon in a passageway

applause.

so he could stay with his dog. Even the manager
recommended the owner to go into the room, but theThis earthquake struck in the mountainous areas ofowner preferred to stay with his dog and declined the

Niigata Prefecture. The damage was especially great

offer. I’m sure owners want to stay with their pets andin areas where there were many steep slopes. This isthat pets want to stay with their owners. Also, cats werea district where ornamental trout are bred on a large

kept in cages as shown in this photo.

scale. Here, the earthquake resulted in the deathsof 1,290,000 trout, causing damage valued at 6.5

In the wake of the Chuetsu Earthquake, our activities

billion yen. As was also the case following the tsunami

included distributing food and lending out related

generated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, theequipment. Also, we received ten tents from the Self-

stench from all the dead fish was dreadful. Also, theDefense Forces for the use of people evacuating withunsanitary conditions attracted and contributed to thetheir pets.

proliferation of many insect pests.
Next, I’d like to talk about the issue of temporary
A little earlier, Dr. Yamaguchi (of JAWS) talked abouthousing. First of all, I went to the prefecture’s Civil

tents erected at evacuation centers for use as places

Engineering Department and asked them to please allow

where owners could take care of their own animals.

people to keep animals with them in the temporary

There was an elderly lady who brought two pet catshousing units. However, they replied that jurisdiction

along with her to one of these shelters. When I asked

over this matter was in the hands of the municipalities

if I could take her photo, she said, “Please do!” So I

and that the prefecture was unable to make such

took these photos. This elderly lady was living in an

decisions. Individual cities, towns and villages were inevacuation center and because she had nothing muchcharge of temporary housing management.

else to do, she would visit her pets and play with them.
Then she would go back to the evacuation center toAt this point, the managers of the public health centerschat with other people.

requested the municipalities to allow people to keep
animals in temporary housing units. As a result, itInitially, we considered that animal accompanied

became possible to keep pets in temporary housing inevacuation would be allowed as a matter of course.

Niigata Prefecture. Moreover, the prefecture provided

However, it turned out that the acceptance of pets

across-the-board backup for this policy.

varied from one evacuation center to another. When a154

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

We also kept some animals temporarily and provided

personnel help aboard children and elderly people one

support for the health management of pets inafter another. In the middle of the next queue there iscooperation with the Veterinary Medical Association.

an old man holding a dog. He anxiously waits for his

In addition, we carried out animal rescue activities inturn to board. “I want to take this dog along with me.

the Yamakoshi area where all the villages had been

Please, please let me take it along,” he asks many times

evacuated.

with tears pouring from his eyes. “I am so sorry, it has
been decided that we can’t take animals. It’s a rule.”

On top of this, we carried out spaying and neutering“Please let us evacuate together. Or if that isn’t possible,

operations on pet animals. These operations were

I’ll remain here.” At the time, the situation was that

conducted by the five small-scale animal protection and

the SDF had to evacuate more than 2,000 people fromcontrol centers spread around the prefecture.

various mountain villages, so even baggage space waslimited. Saving human life was given absolute priority.

As for the timeline, the earthquake struck on October
23, the relief system was secured on October 25,

This old man had also considered leaving his dog

and the system announced to the mass media on thebehind initially. But as the time for parting drew close,evening of October 26. On October 27, we set up ahe found that he was unable to abandon the dog. Even

Headquarters for the Relief of Animals in Emergencies

though he was told to evacuate ahead of the animal,

and began our animal rescue activities.

he could not bear to leave behind the dog he lived withand loved. He couldn’t give up no matter how often

The support activities included providing pet food, pet

he was told it was an order or how much discomfort

sheets and cat litter, and performing free vaccinations.

the scene was causing the surrounding people. Many

To obtain the necessary veterinary medicines we madepeople evacuating together at that time witnessed thisa request to the Veterinary Medical Association. At thesituation.

beginning we had no money, so we received everything
free of charge. We were able to obtain cages afterOn the fourth day after all the villages had been

making a request to the Headquarters for the Relief of

evacuated, only the animals separated from their

Animals in Emergencies based in Tokyo.

owners remained in the villages. When the owners
thought about the pets they had left behind, they

In total, we conducted free spaying and neutering

couldn’t stop worrying. The suffering of the owners

operations on 162 dogs and 614 cats.

was only increasing with time. Then, they recalled that
old man who took his dog to the evacuation meeting

This is the food we stored and distributed to those inpoint. Some of the owners must have been saddened

urgent need.

as they thought, ‘That old man was determined to takehis dog in spite of the harsh words directed at him orNow, I would like to talk to you about the animal rescue

how embarrassing his position may have looked. Why

activities we carried out at Yamakoshi. The situation at

couldn’t I have kept trying like he did?’ However, wethat time was recorded in a book. Let me read to you

had to think about how to rescue animals in a situationfrom the text:

in which even baggage was limited to two bags per“A large group of people stands waiting at a sports

person.”ground that has become a gathering spot. The noiseof an SDF helicopter grows louder as it approaches

Under such a situation, the section chief and I made athe ground. This is a big helicopter that can carry 40

request to the Vice Governor. We said, “Many animals

people at once. The wind produced by the rotating

have been left behind in Yamakoshi. We would like toblades sends up a cloud of dust so that people ongo there to rescue them. Please let us board a helicopter

the ground are unable to keep their eyes open. SDF

to rescue the animals.” The Vice Governor said, “I

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012155

understand the importance of rescuing these animals,

goods. The Firefighting Disaster Prevention Flying

and I understand what you are asking. But our priority

Corps staff also helped us. We visited sites that nobody

must remain the safeguarding of human life. However,had been to since the earthquake struck. We were able

you may go on this mission as long as you remain

to observe on-site situations that nobody else had seen

engaged in your other work.” Then he called the person

in detail and to record them. Then, after returning toin charge of the helicopter and told him, “Tomorrow,

Niigata City in the evening, we reported these situations

these people will travel to Yamakoshi in order to rescue

together with accompanying photographs to the task

animals. Please take them on board.”

force. These reports were useful when we embarked
on our next round of measures. We visited each site to

We made our preparations that night and started ourfeed and water the animals there. In addition, we tried

rescue work at 4:00 am. Visiting the disaster area

to confirm the on-site situation as much as possible andinvolved some risk, so we made up a team of staff frommake reports for use later on during the reconstruction

different sections with no more than one person from

effort. This worked out very well. We repeated thiseach section, so that each section’s work could continue

activity several times until, eventually, the helicopter

even if an accident occurred during the rescue work.

chief would even ask me, “So when is the next visit backthere?” It was important for us to display an attitude

After October 22, we also began picking up animals. At

that we don’t just work on animal rescue activities

the beginning, our animal rescue activities were limited

but that we also do anything else to help, including

to feeding, watering and providing medical treatment

gathering information, etc.

inside the disaster area. But we knew that by November
heavy snow would arrive and we would be unable toAs this photo shows, in the disaster area, a dog wascontinue these activities on-site. So we decided to pickleft behind in a car. Upon evacuating, the owner mustup and keep the animals.

have thought they would be able to come back soon
to rescue it. But in fact it took more than a year before

However, we had the problem of where to keep these

the owners could come back. We have to consider

animals. Since Niigata Prefecture gets a lot of snow

not only that evacuated owners will worry about theirevery winter, it is difficult to manage animals in aabandoned pets, but that they may also harbor a great

simple shelter. Accordingly, we decided not to build

sense of regret.

shelters but, instead, to install container houses in the
animal protection and control centers and to keep the

The actual pick-up activities involved a lot of walking.

animals there. Also, we asked the Veterinary Medical

Although there were plenty of cars left behind in the

Association for their help. The association’s members

disaster area, they belonged to other people, so wetold us, “Mr. Kawakami, don’t worry. We have 200

couldn’t use them. Whenever an aftershock occurred we

members. If you ask each member to keep just one

would contact the task force via satellite mobile phone

animal, we can take in 200 animals for you. If we keep

but we continued our pick-up activities, discovering

two animals each, we can take in 400 animals.” So weanimals that had been left behind, including rabbits.

contacted each branch of the association in Niigata
Prefecture, secured keeping places, and began our pick-

In this area, the rabies vaccination ratio and theup activities.

registered injection ratio for dogs were both 100%.
Under that system, at a pre-arranged time if an owner

156

This is a photograph taken inside the helicopter. The

and dog do not turn up for the injection, the authorities

two people in front are our staff members. I was inwill call them. Also, the authorities are aware of which

front of them when I took this photo. The people athouseholds keep dogs. When such information isthe back are engineering work staff. The interior ofavailable, it makes rescue activities so much easier. It is

the helicopter is filled to capacity with animal rescue

important to carry out basic dog registration and rabies

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012vaccination, and also to implant microchips in cats.

while literally shedding tears.

As you can see in this photograph, somebody wrote a

Almost all of the households keeping cats left their hallmessage on the road. It says, “Everyone has evacuateddoors slightly ajar. When we called, cats would emerge

to Nagaoka, so please go back home immediately andfrom the interior meowing at us. This is a cat called Rin-release the dog.” In another case, somebody who knew

chan that came out in response to our call.

we were feeding animals left a message at their door
saying, “There is a cat living here. Please feed it.” The

I’m sure some of you saw the movie entitled “A Tale ofowner wrote this when they returned for a temporary

Mari & Three Puppies” (Mari to koinu no monogatari).

visit.

This is a photo of the real Mari-chan. In the movie,
there was no mention at all that Niigata Prefecture

One owner showed me a picture of their cat and asked

government personnel were helping the animals byme to look for it because they had been unable to findtraveling to the disaster area to feed them. This photoit.

shows Mari-chan clutching a dried-carp in her teeth.
This is Yuichi, who was played by Eiichiro Funakoshi inThis photograph was taken when we went into a house.

the movie. And here are the three puppies.

A dead mouse had been left on top of a shoebox in thefront hall. I imagined that a cat had done this as a sign

While obtaining help from the air rescue service,to the owners when they came back home. As I had

our activities progressed from feeding to picking up

thought, this household kept a cat.

animals. From the time we began picking them up, theinterior of the helicopter was filled with cages. As you

This man is a member of our staff who was visiting thecan see in this photo, we sometimes had to travel along

disaster area for the first time. While we were doing ourpathless routes in order to locate and pick up animals.

work, a dog followed us around, but we had to leave itPets that came to us when we called them were easy tobehind when we left the area. We felt very sad about

capture. This cat “commuted” to this house from twothis. Perhaps we would be better off not becoming sokilometers away. And this house cat walked into a cageattached. Among the dogs there were some wild ones.

set up for picking up cats.

We couldn’t go to them for feeding, so we fed them bypushing a feeding box towards them with a long bar.

After returning from our pick-up activities, we visited

Here you can see a dog taking a quick bite of food. In

the temporary housing units looking for owners. A lot

such situations, basic discipline is important.

of cats have faces that are hard to distinguish fromone another. An owner would tell us, “Our cat is an

The dog in this photograph was injured. Female staff

orange tabby,” but there are a lot of orange tabbies,

members also participated in this activity. But they had

so we couldn’t see which was which. To overcome thistrouble with the lack of toilet facilities.

problem, nametags or microchipping are necessary.

At the site, there were bulls that were raised for

The staff of the Headquarters for the Relief of Animals

bullfighting. (Yamakoshi is well known for a form ofin Emergencies came on an inspection trip, and I

non-lethal bullfighting in which two bulls meet andremember that Doctor Yamaguchi was a member ofpush each other in a ring, rather like sumo wrestlers.)

that team.

On one occasion I opened a shutter behind which I
was astonished to see such a bull. Bulls of this kind

We also kept animals temporarily. As I mentioned

are treated as a sort of pet, but we did not have any

earlier, we also had to vaccinate them to prevent themsuitable feed with us, so we gave the bull feedstuff thatfrom contracting or transmitting diseases to otherwas available nearby. Then this big bull ate the foodcats hospitalized at the same animal hospital. For this

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012157

reason, we monitored the animals’ health condition

This is a photog raph show ing the situat ion in

for a while following vaccination to confirm they

Fukushima at the time of the Great East Japan

were disease free. Then we moved them to the animal

Earthquake. The situation was the same as that at thehospitals that were to take care of them.

time of the Chuetsu Earthquake.

This is a photograph of a cat that we kept.

This photo is from the time of the Chuetsu Earthquake.

Eventually, we had about 250 animals in temporary

This is the place where we delivered a cat rescued inaccommodation. It took about two years following

Yamakoshi to its owner who was living in temporary

the earthquake before the last of these animals were

housing. It is easy to locate an owner if the cat isreturned to their owners. It also took a lot of money

microchipped but very difficult when not.

and labor.
Keeping pets in temporary housing facilities was
Volunteers also came to help out with cleaning. It

permitted but the details were decided throughwas only thanks to the help of many people that we

discussions among the residents. In this instance itwere able to continue the temporary keeping of thesewas decided to install a pet house close to the houses

animals.

and to keep the animals there. This photo shows thepet house. The interior looked like this. We told the

The seasons moved on and the snow began to fall. We

owners that we could install an air conditioner but they

kept working even when this meant trudging throughsaid air conditioning was not needed. When somebody

deep snow. This is a photograph I took. It is very

visiting from one of the involved organizations saw theimportant to take photographs and keep records whencondition in which the pets were being kept, he told

doing this kind of activity. When we talk to people later,us, “What a poor way you have of taking care of them.

it can be very difficult to convey to an audience exactly

Niigata people are so cold-blooded.” We could only

what the situation was like, but photographs really

reply, “this is what the owners wanted”. In Yamakoshi,

help. While it does take some effort to keep taking

owners kept their dogs in unheated places such as front

photographs while working, it should definitely beentrances, even in winter.

done.
Next, I will talk about the transfer of pets. We did not
In that particular year, Yamakoshi was covered in snow,

destroy pets when we couldn’t locate their owners.

its heaviest in 19 years. In these circumstances it was

Instead, we found new owners to adopt them. We

difficult to continue visiting the disaster area to rescue

held a transfer meeting where we were able to rapidly

animals. But even in this heavy snow, cats came to us

place the animals with new owners just by saying, forfor food.

instance, “This is a cat from Yamakoshi.” Volunteers
came along to support us and they also transferred theFrom now on I would like to talk about temporarycats they had been keeping at the same time. This is a

housing.

photo showing a cat with its new owners.

We did draw up a set of provisional rules - First,

This is a dog, named Rocky, who was one of the last

pets should be kept indoors, (although in reality,

dogs to be transferred. His owner decided to move into

many people did not do this). Also, pets should bea private apartment and so he had to give the dog away.

vaccinated and spayed or neutered. We made spaying

Rocky was introduced on an NHK TV program.

and neutering operations available free of charge and158

placed nametags on all pet animals. It is troublesome

Even so, there were pets for which new owners were

if we can’t see who owns which pet. In addition, we

hard to find. This cat was one of those left until the end.

organized a pet owners’ association.

His name was Boss. He may have been a stray cat andりぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

he was infected with the feline immunodeficiency virus.

plan,” at the time when it was being drafted.

When I put my finger into his cage, he attacked it withhis claws and bit so hard that blood spurted out. The

The most important of the animal rescue measures

staff at the animal protection and control center, who

within a regional disaster prevention plan concerns

didn’t keep cats themselves, were unaware that a cats’

the role of owners. In the first place, pets belong

claws should be clipped. They still had to learn suchto their owners and are members of their owners’

basics also.

families. So it is the owners who should play the mainrole in protecting their pets. They should therefore be

Finally, we did find a place for Boss. It took two years

conscious that, in principle, if a disaster strikes they

before he met his new owner. He was transferred to ashould not rely on the government to help them protect

person living in Niigata City. In spite of the fact that hetheir pets. They should do so through their own efforts

had bitten me, as soon as he arrived at his new home,just as they protect the people in their family. Otherhe jumped straight onto the lap of the lady of the housethings owners should do include training their pets notand demanded to be held. He was totally calm. The new

to bite people, attaching contact information to pets’

owners had prepared a cat bed, litter box and milk forcollars, etc.

him. As soon as he arrived at his new home Boss ate
a meal and by the time we were about to leave he had

I will now talk about prefectures. One of the roles ofalready settled down by himself in his bed. I told thisNiigata Prefectural Government is to secure essential

story to the Governor and he mentioned it at a press

supplies and another is to carry out animal protection

briefing. I’m quite sure that Boss must have been theactivities. When the Great East Japan Earthquake

only cat in Japan to be introduced in that way by astruck, people evacuating from the area entrusted

prefectural governor.

their pets to the animal-keeping facilities attached tothe evacuation centers. In accordance with the Niigata

Boss died in July 2007, something that was also written

Prefecture Regional Disaster Prevention Plan, Niigata

about in this book. Let me read the relevant part.

Prefecture set up a Headquarters for the Relief of“On the night before he died, he kept crying at a time

Animals in Emergencies on March 18. However, thedifferent to his usual time. He was using his last ounceneighboring prefectures had no such headquarters andof energy to talk to us, knowing full well that the time

I think this was a problem. If each authority develops

to part from us had come. I wish he could have lived

its own activities for dealing with such situations, I don’much longer.” Boss was telling his owners, “Thank you.

t think activities will go very smoothly.

I have been happy here.”
Next, let me talk about the role of municipalities. Cities,
The week after this cat died, another earthquake struck

towns and villages should establish facilities that havein the Chuetsu region of

the capacity to accept and keep animals properly.

Niigata Prefecture. This was the Chuetsu Offshore

Also, municipalities should carry out evacuation drills

Earthquake. However, after the 2004 Chuetsu

involving people accompanied by pets as part of their

Earthquake we had already introduced animal rescue

general disaster-preparedness drills. In Niigata, themeasures into the Niigata Prefecture Regional Disaster

Veterinary Medical Association and the Society for thePrevention Plan. So we were able to deal with thisPrevention of Cruelty to Animals also have their roles.

situation smoothly. The person in charge of the plan
happened to be the same person who had arranged theIn the context of disaster preparedness, I think thehelicopter transport for us when we carried out animal

following five things are particularly important:rescue activities in Yamakoshi. He understood our work

First, we need to establish relationships of trust

very well and it was he who said, “Let’s include animal

between people and animals, between individual

rescue measures into the regional disaster prevention

animals such as dogs, and between individual owners.

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012159

Second, pet owners should make a contribution to theirconducted. Here, with the cooperation of a privately

local community and enlighten other people about theoperated dog run, the participants practiced walking

variety of things that can be done to add value to theirthrough rubble piled up inside a facility. Apart fromlocal community.

that, people practiced putting several animals into

Third, pets need to undergo basic discipline training.

cages together.

Fourth, pet owners should practice animal protection
activities.

Also, people accompanied by animals participated in

Fifth, pet owners should prepare properly for potential

general emergency disaster drills held at the town

disasters. For example, they should get their pets

level. When I was working at the public health center, I

vaccinated and prepare emergency-use supplies, etc.

talked to the local town authority to arrange for people
accompanied by pets to take part in these general

As for establishing relationships of trust, this is a sports

emergency disaster drills. As a result, people with dogs

festival for dogs. At this kind of event, the owners andcame trooping into the sites where the disaster drill

dogs play together in a cordial atmosphere. In fact, theparticipants were gathered.

owners seem to enjoy it more than the dogs do. That’s
an important point. Owners can take advantage of these

The municipality and the prefecture provided thegatherings to exchange information and make friends

reception facilities. Pet owners joined in the exerciseswith each other.

accompanied by their dogs, ate emergency food, andtook part in a smoke drill. At the end, the owners

This is a food eating competition where pets have toand their dogs lined up together with the rest of theeat food from different kinds of container. Pets thatparticipants. In this way, the event provided good PR

can only eat from their own special dish are quickly

for pet owners and pets alike,eliminated.
This is a photograph of the volunteers at a welfareThis is a Halloween party for dogs. The event has its

related evacuation center for people evacuated after the

detractors, but the owners are enjoying themselves

Great East Japan Earthquake. At this evacuation center,very much. Also, this provides an opportunity for dog

pregnant women, mothers with children, and elderly

training, such as attaching an Elizabethan-style collar ofpeople in need of care were evaluated. I asked one of

the kind used after dogs have had surgery, or putting

the volunteers what kind of meals the evacuees were

socks on their legs to protect their paws. Whether theeating. Her answer was, “People are mostly eating breaddogs enjoy this sort of event or not is difficult to say,and jam, bananas, rice balls and packed lunches, so

but the owners certainly have fun. And it’s very good ifwhen they get hot food they appreciate it very much.”owners and pets can enjoy such activities together.

A group of young mothers with small children living
in Nagaoka City had formed a volunteer group, called

With regard to regional contribution activities, we“Manma”, to support the evacuation center. At the time,

carried out home visit activities to help dispose of

I was working in the Meat Sanitation Inspection Section

garbage and to establish personal contact with people.

so I told the parties involved that the owner of a meat-

This is a photograph taken on such a visit. The person

related business had made an offer of support. He hadhere is a prefectural office staff member.

said, “Please let me cooperate in some way… Since theearthquake struck, I have been wanting to help the

In addition to the prefectural level, the cities, towns

victims of the disaster, but I didn’t know how. I’m gladand villages became involved. It’s important for public

to have heard about such a good cause.” Even now thisadministration personnel to join in.

man continues to support the victims by providingthem with meat.

Animal accompanied evacuation practice drills were160

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

This photograph shows a scene of volunteers visiting
the evacuation center in order to prepare meals
outdoors. On that particular day, the elementary school
children had been given a compensatory day off, so
there were a lot of children at the center. They weredelighted with the food, happily exclaiming, “Great! It’s
meat!” A meat-related company had donated a supply ofhigh-quality meat for the event, and the happy children
really appreciated the taste.
This is a photograph showing all the members of thevolunteer group Manma.
The Great East Japan Earthquake struck on March
11, and a Headquarters for the Relief of Animals in
Emergencies was established in Niigata Prefecture on
March 18. The need for such facilities was stated in theregional disaster prevention plan so we were able to set
it up immediately.
This photograph, showing the construction of an
emergency pet shelter, was taken on the day before theAnimal Rescue Headquarters was set up.
On March 31, 2011, there were about 9,000 evacuees
living in Niigata Prefecture and, as of February thisyear, the number was still about 7,000. From now on,
we are considering what more we can do to provide
these people with direct support.
That’s all from me. Thank you very much.

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