Last updated on 4/18/11 @ 11:15 AM CDT.

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1. Introduction / Choosing a Charity
2. Human-Centered Disaster Relief, Vegan & Non
3. Animal Rescue & Disaster Relief
4. Vegan Fundraisers
5. Armchair Activism
6. News & (Somewhat Vegan) Views
7. Newsletters & Dispatches

Before and after the quake, Arahama in Sendai. This image shows one continuous landscape across the rectangle–at center, see the roadway sloping slightly upward from left to right across the black bar. In the original, dynamic version of this image, the black bar can be scrolled left and right across the landscape.
Credits: Google, ABC, GeoEye
Source: cnet.com
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It’s a startling picture of how dramatic and destructive Friday’s massive earthquake actually was.

The quake, which has upgraded to a magnitude 9.0 by the Japan Meteorological Agency, may have shifted the position of Earth’s axis about 6.5 inches, Richard Gross, a geophysicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told the Los Angeles Times. The quake likely sped up the Earth’s rotation, shortening the day by 1.8 microseconds, Gross said. Also, the main island of Japan appears to have moved 8 feet, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey told CNN.

To help illustrate the damaging power of the quake and the ensuing tsunami, Google has compiled a collection of high-resolution before-and-after satellite images that depict the areas affected most by the devastation.

“We’re working to provide this data directly to response organizations on the ground to aid their efforts,” Ryan Falor, Google Crisis Response team, said in a Google Lat Long Blog post. “We hope this new updated satellite imagery is valuable for them as well as everyone else following this situation to help illustrate the extent of the damage.”

ABC News has created a presentation of the images, overlaying the before and after images for each specific area for a more immediate representation of the quake and tsunami’s devastating effects.

(Source: cnet.com)

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Last updated on 3/14/11 @ 2:00 PM CDT.

Care for animals brought in by residents. © WSPA Brasil

Partnership between WSPA and UNIFESO mobilizes people to treat animals in the mountainous region: A stand of veterinary care will open this Saturday 05/02, to meet animals, victims of floods which have battered the mountainous region. Read more…
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Between the brush fires and flooding in Australia and the flash floods and landslides in Brazil, the world has seen at least several large-scale “natural” disasters in recent months – though consumers of mainstream media may be none the wiser. As with the 2010 floods in Pakistan, these emergencies have received little coverage (at least in the United States), including from animal advocacy corners.

Perhaps it’s due to “compassion fatigue” in the wake of the earthquakes in Haiti, which sparked an outpouring of support. (If not structural, but still.) I’d like to believe that, as far as fellow animal advocates are concerned, the silence is attributable to a simple lack of news to report. At least, this has been the case ’round these parts; aside from the stray plea for donations, I haven’t seen much in response to more recent disaster situations.

When I received Kinship Circle’s latest newsletter, reporting that it – in partnership with IDA – was on the ground in Brazil, providing disaster relief to the nonhuman victims of the floods and mudslides, I figured it was high time to write about the relief efforts currently underway in Brazil. Though I spent much of the morning combing through the websites of well-known animal welfare groups – including many of those that responded to previous disasters – I was only able to find a few that are currently providing aid in Brazil.

The most pressing need, of course, is for monetary donations. Please give what you can. Long-term, volunteers – bodies on the ground – are essential to providing emergency assistance as well. To this end, please also consider getting involved with an animal advocacy group that specializes in disaster response. If you live in the U.S., Kinship Circle is a good start; check out its Disaster Responder Volunteer Form for more info.

In you know of any other resources, please share! You can either email me at easyvegan [at] gmail.com, or leave in it the comments section, and I’ll tackle it it asap. Please and thank you.

Also, I’d like to remind y’all that I continue to update previous disaster hubs periodically, as new information becomes available. These include: the 2010 Pakistan Floods; the 2010 BP Oil Spill; the 2010 Earthquake in Chile; and the 2010 Earthquakes in Haiti. Additionally, I still maintain a disaster relief archive – dating back to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 – over at my old blog, Smite Me! (See: Disaster Relief.) All relevant newsletters are crossposted there as well.

Aerial view of damages in Poco Fundo, an isolated area in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jan. 18, 2011. (Vanderlei Almeida/AFP/Getty Images)
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1. Animal Rescue & Vegan Relief at a Glance

Here’s a quick roundup of the animal welfare, animal rights, and vegan groups that are either 1) directly assisting with animal rescue efforts in Brazil or 2) collecting and distributing funds to those that providing aid in the region. Please note that some of these groups may focus on “saving” farmed and working animals so that they can be further exploited in the future – and let your own ethics guide you in your decision to donate.

Last updated on 8/31/10 @ 12:00 PM CDT.

Got a tip, link, suggestion, etc. that you think I should incorporate into the list? Send it to me at easyvegan [at] gmail.com, or leave in it the comments section, and I’ll tackle it it asap. Please and thank you!
 

“Pakistan Floods: Displaced people fleeing Sindh streamed into Balochistan.”
CC image via the United Nations Development Programme on Flickr and is attributed to ©Abdul Majeed Goraya_IRIN.
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Here’s a quick roundup of the animal welfare, animal rights, and vegan groups that are either 1) directly assisting with animal rescue efforts in Pakistan or 2) collecting and distributing funds to those that providing aid in the region. Please note that a number of these groups seem to focus on “saving” farmed and working animals so that they can be further exploited in the future – and let your own ethics guide you in your decision to donate.

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In a recent plea for donations, Kinship Circle wondered whether the earthquake (and resulting tsunami) in Chile has become “the forgotten disaster” – in a year filled with both natural and man-made catastrophes:

IS CHILE THE FORGOTTEN DISASTER? May, 2010: An evacuee camp in Talquahano wants to kill all its companion animals. People who lost everything in an 8.8 earthquake and tsunami can’t feed themselves. They don’t want to watch their animals starve.

Kinship Circle and SACH intervene with food and veterinary aid. But without more funding, we can’t possibly meet the needs of 30 tent camps along Chile’s coast. We run out of sutures, latex gloves… At times we can’t afford the van rental to ferry our team, vet supplies and food.

Still, we can’t let despair propel Chileans to shoot their own animals. This speaks volumes about Chile’s quake/tsunami victims…and how the world seems to have forgotten them. People assume they can recover on their own. They’re wrong, especially when it comes to animals.

WHY IS THIS URGENT AND WHOM WILL IT HELP? Homeless guardians are unable to supply food or medicine to their animals. In the short term, animals require treatment for gashes, broken bones, lost limbs, dehydration, mange, worms, parasites or other illness. In the longer term, they need vaccines, nutrition and sterilization. Pre-quake strays with mange, malnutrition, infection…blend with animals stranded by disaster. The are scattered by the thousands along quake/tsunami torn towns like Villa Futura, Santa Clara Talchuano, Calita il Fiernillo, and Calita Los Morros, etc.

Preceded by the Haitian earthquake and followed by the BP oil “spill,” the Chilean earthquake hasn’t garnered as much attention as it might have otherwise. Indeed, though I compiled link roundups for all three disasters, the Chilean post has attracted the least traffic of the three, with views falling quickly mere weeks after the earthquake. Currently, the Haitian post receives x5 as many views as its Chilean counterpart, even though it’s two months older. Likewise (and outside of my own little slice of the interwebs), I cannot remember the last time I saw coverage of the earthquake in Chile on CNN, MSNBC, or the like. (Possibly not more than a week or two after the disaster struck?)

All of which isn’t to suggest that the survivors in Haiti and the Gulf Coast are not deserving of your support; not at all! Since most of us have limited funds and time, picking and choosing a cause or two to donate to can be a difficult, heartbreaking task. But if you have a little extra cash to spare, please consider sending it to help the survivors in Chile who have been hit doubly hard – first by the earthquake and tsunami, and later by donor fatigue.

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Last updated 7/5/10 @ 8:20 PM CDT

While the recent earthquake (and resulting tsunami) in Chile has received less coverage – at least in regards to subsequent relief efforts – than that in Haiti, I was able to find some information on animal-friendly organizations that are providing help with disaster relief. Please feel free to share any additional information in the comments!

1. Vegan Bake Sales for Chile: As of this writing, I can’t find a post dedicated specifically to vegan bake sales to benefit Chilean quake survivors on the PPK blog, however, a search of the forums does bring up a few relevant threads. Head on over to the PPK to organize and announce your own bake sale for Chile!

2. Food for Life Global is on the ground in Chile, providing vegan and/or vegetarian meals to quake survivors:

BBC, Feb 28 — The death toll from Chile’s earthquake has more than doubled to 708 and is expected to rise further, President Michelle Bachelet has said. Previously about 300 people were estimated to have been killed in Saturday’s 8.8 magnitude quake – one of the most powerful recorded. Massive damage is hampering rescue teams as they struggle to reach those still buried in the rubble.

Food for Life emergency relief teams in the area are mobilizing to provide help. Donate now!

3. In Defense of Animals (IDA) reported on 3/18/10 that it will be sending aid to Chile:

On February 27, Chile experienced a magnitude 8.8 earthquake, followed by two tsunamis and several weeks of aftershocks.

IDA has already committed $5,000 to Socorro Animal Chile, SACH (Animal Relief Chile), a coalition of Chilean animal protection organizations. SACH sends three veterinarian-led teams into the field daily. We would like to send SACH even more assistance, as the need is enormous. Please help IDA continue to respond to natural disasters by contributing to our Disaster Relief Fund.

Funds IDA raises to help animals in Chile will be used to provide:

* Emergency sheltering for rescued animals
* Search and rescue efforts
* In-field sustenance (food/water program)
* Animal transport
* Temporary clinics to treat animals
* Support for spay/neuter and adoption programs

4. Finally, Kinship Circle has proven an excellent source of information on animal rescue and disaster relief efforts in Chile. All related Kinship Circle alerts are crossposted below. I’ve added additional links where necessary; the most recent alerts appear first, followed by earlier ones. You can also view a photo log of Kinship Circle’s rescue efforts in Chile on Flickr, @ KCChile.

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Last updated 5/23/10 @ 9:30 PM CDT.

“WSPA – Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts: This picture was sent on to the WSPA emergency relief team, by a photographer who is in Haiti. Domesticated animals play a significant role in Haiti, both in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and in the lengthy road to recovery.” Photo via the WSPA on Flickr.
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Faced with a natural disaster of this magnitude, there’s not much to say. So let’s not say anything. Instead, let’s do.

Below I’ve compiled a list of 1) action alerts, 2) at-home fundraisers and volunteer opportunities and 3) organizations in need of monetary donations and volunteers abroad in order to assistant in the relief efforts in Haiti. As you will see, this guide is heavy on animal rescue and animal-friendly organizations – because, hello, vegan blogger here! – however, I have included resources for human-related groups as well. In particular, the action alerts section does not discriminate.

I’ll update this post in the days and weeks to come, so please bookmark it and visit often. As of 2/8/10, I have moved it off the main page, since updates have slowed.

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Sat, Oct 3, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Subject: Lives Shattered In Tsunami, Earthquakes

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK

www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

10/3/09: Lives Shattered In Tsunami, Earthquakes – Asia-Pacific Area

IN THIS ALERT:

1. Six Countries Hit, Millions Displaced In Asia-Pacific
2. PAWS Races To Save Animals In Philippine Floods
3. Animal Welfare Coalition And IFAW Team Up On Land And Water
4. Best Friends’ Rich Crook With IFAW In Hard-Hit Philippines
5. WSPA Sends 3 Veterinarian-Led Response Teams
6. KC Directory: Rescue Groups To Help In Asia-Pacific

Dr. Nielsen Donato reaches Julia. PHOTO: Best Friends Rapid Response, courtesy of Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), www.paws.org

network.bestfriends.org/groups/rapidresponse/news/post.aspx?ID=13314

This report reflects information Kinship Circle has as of 10/3/09 — and how to support animal response teams in the Philippines, Indonesia and Samoa.

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Below you will find the second of two action alerts from Kinship Circle, detailing disaster relief needs in the Southeastern U.S., which is currently drying out from recent flooding (and preparing for another bout of heavy rains, to boot). This particular alert focuses on Cobb County Animal Control in Marietta, Georgia, which is inundated with animals. Even if you cannot foster or adopt a dog – or make a monetary donation to help with rescue expenses – please spread the word.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 1:16 PM
Subject: Soaked SE – Cobb County Dogs Need Rescue

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK

www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

9/25/09: Soaked Southeast – Cobb County Dogs Need Rescue
Below is more information regarding COBB COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL in flood-hit Marietta, Georgia. Did you get yesterday’s (9/24/09) overview of animal needs in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi?

ASK FOR 9/24/09 FLOOD ALERT: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
9/24/09: Animal Flood Recovery In Soaked Southeast

[Kelly's note: The alert is also available on easyVegan.info, here.]

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GEORGIA: Cobb County Animal Control
1060 Al Bishop Drive / Marietta, Georgia 30008
ph: 770-499-4136; fax: 770-590-5620
Cpt. Jeff Patellis, Dept of Public Safety: 770-590-5602

animalcontrol.cobbcountyga.gov/

SUMMARY 9/24/09: From Janice Riccio, Quietzsch [at] aol.com –
Due to the massive flooding in the Atlanta area, and specifically Cobb County, many people displaced by floodwaters left their pets with Cobb County Animal Control. The shelter was slammed before the floods, so they had no room to house newcomers. They were desperate to find rescue for dogs already housed there or face euthanasia…

I’ve taken in 9 dogs and have no place to house them, other then boarding at two vet offices. This is very temporary, and although the vets have generously boarded the dogs at a discount, this will add up quickly — not to mention the other costs for rabies vaccines, altering, etc.

SEND MONETARY DONATIONS TO:
Call vet offices directly to make donations for flood-affected dogs (shown below).
* Averill Animal Hospital / 415 Villa Rica Way / Marietta, GA 30064 / 770-422-2402
* Etowah Veterinary Hospital / 4953 Canton Road / Marietta, GA 30066 / 770-926-8888

IF YOU CAN FOSTER – ADOPT – RESCUE, CONTACT:
Janice Riccio, Quietzsch [at] aol.com

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This is the first of two Kinship Circle alerts outlining animal-related rescue needs in the recently-flooded Southeastern U.S. In addition to the organizations listed below, CNN has a list of resources on its Impact Your World page; naturally, all of these focus on human needs, and many are religious in nature. If you’d like to suggest any animal rescue and/or secular groups, please do so in the comments!

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 2:58 PM
Subject: Animal Flood Recovery In Soaked Southeast

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK

www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

9/24/09: Animal Flood Recovery In Soaked Southeast

1. TENNESSEE: East Ridge Animal Services – DOGS NEED HELP NOW
2. GEORGIA: Georgia SPCA, GEMA, Barrow, Cobb County AC
3. ALABAMA: Various shelters in affected areas
4. MISSISSIPPI: Various shelters in affected areas

As of Monday, 9/21/09, Kinship Circle has monitored floods across the Southeast U.S., in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Kentucky and Mississippi. Our small volunteer staff has contacted various agencies on the ground to offer support from our network of independently trained responders. There has been no direct call (as of 9/24/09) for out-of-state volunteers, but rescuers are needed to pull from flood-overcrowded shelters.

Rivers crested above flood levels in stricken areas, but most waters are receding. Below is a brief report. We’ll update you if circumstances change.

Fran Alexay of West Creek Stables in Austell moves a Welsh Pony to a trailer. She helped move 15 horses to Conyers Horse Park. Photo: John Spink.

projects.ajc.com.coxnewsweb.com/gallery/view/metro/ajc-photo-stories092209/

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I’m a little late in forwarding this alert from Kinship Circle, and in the interim, there’s been a development in the case. Not surprisingly, it hasn’t resulted in justice for the animals killed by veterinarian Marcy Miranov (and Dr. John Edwards, as well).

Reports The Times-Picayune:

Raw emotions and poor record-keeping triggered whirling accusations of animal cruelty at Jefferson Parish’s animal shelters, according to the results of an independent study released today.

But no laws were broken when 51 cats and dogs were euthanized on Aug. 13 at the parish’s Elmwood facility, the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals discovered. [...]

“Our report is not a glowing report about what’s going on in interoperation,” said Ana Zorrilla, chief executive officer of the state SPCA. “We certainly hope that it’s well received and we certainly hope that the public reads parts and pieces of it, that it’s really seen as an opportunity to improve those operations, not just as criticism or critique of what’s been going on there.”

The SPCA’s representatives worked in an atmosphere already emotionally charged by the abrupt resignation of the shelters’ director, Lee Ann Matherne. She quit the day before the animals were put down.

The most glaring problem appeared to be shoddy record-keeping and lackluster policy management, Zorrilla said. The shelters have four different written policies governing euthanasia. Each one says a different set of people need to approve each procedure.

As far as the SPCA could tell, none of them were being followed. But since none were being implemented, no policies were broken, Zorrilla said.

The SPCA report, however, dispelled several rumors that arose from that incident. Dr. Marci Miranov, the parish’s senior veterinarian in Marrero, had clearance to work at the Elmwood shelter, Zorrilla said. Her colleague, Dr. John Edwards, did not stop her from euthanizing the animals on Aug. 13, as some animal activists suspected. Rather, he assisted her in her work.

The cats put down that day had been sedated, Zorrilla said, contrary to reports that Miranov was lethally injecting the animals without killing the pain first.

The report also found the number of animals put down that day were average. Euthanasia sessions don’t occur daily, which accounts for larger numbers when one is conducted, officials said.

Zorrilla did say that the SPCA found that some of the animals killed that day were adoptable.

“Some were sick, some were feral, but some were strictly space conditions,” she said.

Parish President Aaron Broussard said he would be asking the Parish Council to enact several ordinances Wednesday that would go a long way to cleaning up the poor conditions at the shelters. Broussard has asked that the parish hire the American SPCA to take over the shelters for 90 days, that his administration begin searching for an outside group that could permanently run the facilities and that he enter negotiations to transfer the Marrero shelter to a new site – a former West Jefferson Medical Center clinic near the Oakwood Mall.

(Background here.)

If you choose to act on this alert, please take the SPCA’s findings and recommendations into account. In addition to turning control of the parish shelters over to an outside organization, please urge Jefferson Parish to work in concert with local animal rescue organizations in order to make NOLA a no-kill city. By “no-kill,” I mean truly no-kill – this goes for “feral” and “less adoptable” cats and dogs, too. While shelters may not have the time or resources to rehab animals with medical or behavioral problems, some rescue groups do; some even specialize in these cases.

Whether any human law was violated or not, this slaughter needn’t have happened. Judging from ARNO’s comments, little-to-no effort was made to place these animals in rescue groups prior to killing them – and this is simply unacceptable.

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