The Gentle Barn, a farmed animal sanctuary located in Santa Clarita, California, has provided refuge to nonhuman animals displaced by the recent California wildfires. Included below are two recent emails, detailing their volunteer and supply needs. If you’re in the area, please stop by and help out if you can!

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: The Gentle Barn – info [at] gentlebarn.org
Date: Fri, Sep 4, 2009 at 3:51 PM
Subject: The Gentle Barn Rescues Animals from the Station Fire

The Gentle Barn Rescues Animals from the Station Fire

The Gentle Barn continues to help ranches and sanctuaries evacuate from the Station Fire and take in stranded animals. To date, The Gentle Barn has taken in horses, donkeys, pigs, goats, ducks, and chickens.

At The Gentle Barn the animals will not only be provided refuge from the Station Fire and medical care until they return home, but will also receive all of the benefits The Gentle Barn offers its regular residents, including equine massage therapy, proper nutrition and supplements, quality feed, and plenty of tender loving care.

This Sunday, September 6, 2009, The Gentle Barn invites the public to visit, and help nurture and care for these rescued/evacuated animals. Visitors can feed them carrots, lettuce, and treats, help give baths to the horses, give the pigs tummy rubs, and grab a rake and muck out a stall.

The Gentle Barn will continue to be on call to help and support victims evacuate their animals, as more homes and ranches are threatened by the wildfires.

We have seen too many organizations and people with a lot of animals suffer without a plan. Later in the year, we will be holding a community meeting and inviting city officials to speak about fire safety and evacuation plans.

As the number of animals at The Gentle Barn increases we are asking for donations to help feed and care for them.

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This past weekend marked the 4th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Four years ago last Saturday, Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, causing untold property damage, environmental destruction and loss of life from Florida through Texas. At least 1,836 humans died, victims of nature, government ineptitude and indifference, and racism and classism. The number of nonhuman animal victims will never be known.

Though I didn’t observe the occasion here in writing, the anniversary didn’t pass me by unnoticed. The weekend’s birthday celebrations were bittersweet; while spoiling my dog-kids with homemade treats, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the many dogs who perished in the storm and its aftermath – some of them murdered in cold blood, by people who should have been their protectors.

A year after Katrina, I marked the day with a sort a photo retrospective, which I titled “The Greatness of a Nation,” after the much-loved Mahatma Gandhi quotation. Three years later, I don’t have much to add, so I invite you to go check it out if you haven’t already.
 

 
The past four years have seen a number of books and films made about Hurricane Katrina; see, for example, Douglas Brinkley’s The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (2006); Jed Horne’s Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City (2008); and Josh Neufeld’s A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge (2009). Many of these projects have focused on animal rescue efforts: Mike Shiley’s Dark Water Rising: Survival Stories of Hurricane Katrina Animal Rescues (2006); Best Friends’ Not Left Behind: Rescuing the Pets of New Orleans (2006); Cathy Scott’s Pawprints of Katrina: Pets Saved and Lessons Learned (2008); and even children’s books, such as Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival (2008).

Released in 2007, Tom McPhee’s An American Opera: The Greatest Pet Rescue Ever! is a documentary recounting the spontaneous and titanic efforts undertaken by local and national animal activists to rescue the nonhuman animals caught in Hurricane Katrina’s wake:

Tom McPhee’s An American Opera: The Greatest Pet Rescue Ever! is a multi-award winning documentary film chronicling what happened during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana when pet owners were forced to evacuate without their pets. An American Opera follows the pets, vets, owners, officials, rescuers, and adopters of animals as they try to remedy the situation, revealing that not everyone had the same goal of saving animals. Tom McPhee directed, narrated, and produced the film with the production companies Man Smiling Moving Pictures and Cave Studio.

Interviewing leaders of animal organizations and volunteers who went to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, it is revealed that at the beginning, everyone had different ideas about how things should be done, but no one was willing to take charge because the problem was bigger than anyone could have imagined. The film champions the volunteers whose only concern was saving animals, unlike the animal organizations who were more concerned with the chain of command.

After about a month, the state put the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in charge who told the volunteers to stop rescuing. Anyone not with the LA/SPCA was considered ‘rogue’ and operating outside the authority. Meanwhile, the police in St. Bernard Parish were shooting dogs in what they say was a form of mercy.

Months after Katrina, many owners are still not reunited with their pets because they do not know where they are and do not have the means to find them. Some people have found that their animals have been adopted out and cannot get them back.

The film ends with Barkus, a Louisiana pet parade, indicating New Orleans was not washed away with the hurricane.

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Here’s the latest update from California via Kinship Circle (you can view previous alerts here and here). If you’re able to help out in any way, shape or form, please follow the directions contained within the alert. I’m not affiliated with Kinship Circle or any of the CA-based animal rescue groups – I’m simply trying to spread the word! Kinship Circle welcomes readers to crosspost its alerts (as is), so feel free to copy and paste this post if you’d like.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 3:50 PM
Subject: Animals In California Fires: An Overview

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK

www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

9/2/09: Animals In California Fires – An Overview

1. Animal Acres Update
2. Wildlife Waystation
3. Pasadena Humane Society
4. Shambala Big Cat Sanctuary
5. Horses Ride Out Fire At Pierce College Equestrian Center
6. Fire Evacuation Sites That Accept Animals

=========================

1. Animal Acres Update

Animal Acres / 5200 Escondido Canyon Rd / Acton, CA 93510
661-269-5404 * info [at] animalacres.org * animalacres.org

LT: Pigs get a drink at the evac site.

RT: Animals rest at their evacuation center near Palmdale, Calif.

“Acton, CA. Apr. 29, 2009. Lorri Houston, Exec. Director of Animal Acres, a 26 acres farm animal sanctuary that strives to provide farm animals welfare and affection. They have taken no precautions and still have tours of school kids and visitors doing hands-on petting of pigs and other animals. A 1 month old piglet in the sanctuary on Apr. 29, 2009.”

Farm animals evacuated because of Station fire.

ON THE GROUND: SITUATION CONTAINED. STANDBY VOLS NEEDED FOR RETURN TRANSPORT.

Frank Allen, Animal Acres’ manager, tells Kinship Circle all animals are safely evacuated to one site. Volunteers will be needed when time to transport animals back to Animals Acres — a task that may be more difficult than the evacuation itself, since everyone is spread out.

Frank will not risk moving animals until the fires are 95% contained and out of the area. As in any crisis situation, we ask for your patience and flexibility…as circumstances can change in a heartbeat.

UPDATE FROM ANIMAL ACRES FOUNDER LORRI HOUSTON:

“We are safe and all animals have been relocated… The past two days, volunteers have installed wire lines directly to the animal enclosures, constructed additional pen areas, and moved cleaning, health care, and feed supplies and equipment to the evacuation site — as it now appears that the sanctuary animals will not be able to return until September 15 or later.“

Animal Acres needs $$ for construction of shade shelters and automatic waters, as animals will be at the evac site awhile in high temperatures.

(more…)

Update, 9/2/09: Please see the newest update here.

————————

This is an update to yesterday’s alert.

For minute-by-minute CA animal rescue news, follow these accounts on Twitter: SPCALA, SPCALAPresident, VeganAvenger, and VeganInLA – and check out the hasgtags #station, #LA and #DART.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 8:17 PM
Subject: UPDATE – Standby Volunteers For Animal Acres Now

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
8/31/09: UPDATE – Standby Volunteers Needed Now
Animal Acres Preps For 2nd Evacuation As Fire Nears

Sanctuary critters at Animal Acres: www.animalacres.org/gallery.html

TO BE AN ANIMALS ACRES STANDBY VOLUNTEER:

KINSHIP CIRCLE is recruiting/managing standby volunteers for Animal Acres
SEND INFO BELOW TO: info [at] kinshipcircle.org

- FIRST & LAST NAME:
- PHONE NUMBERS:
- EMAIL ADDRESS:
- FULL ADDRESS:
SUBJECT LINE: Animal Acres Volunteer

50/50 CHANCE ANIMAL ACRES NEEDS TO RE-EVACUATE ANIMALS

8/31/09 — AUTHORIZED BY FRANK ALLEN, ANIMAL ACRES
Susie V Kaufman, Animal Acres Evacuation Coordinator, susie [at] jarrettlennon.com

Evacuation Site #2 is now potentially in the path of the Station Fire, which is heading due north towards Palmdale (where all the animals, except sheep and goats, are). The sheep and goats are still at Animal Acres.

As of 2:07PM, Monday, 31 August 2009, Frank Allen has asked everyone to be on alert for a second evacuation. He has also asked that NO ONE CALL HIM. Instead, he wants everyone to be on strong standby, and await a phone call and/or email to deploy.

ADDRESS FOR EVACUATION SITE #2 IS:
10955 Hillview Lane
Littlerock, California 93543

DIRECTIONS TO EVACUATION SITE #2 FROM LOS ANGELES AREA:
- 5 or 405 or 210 to…
- Highway 14 toward Palmdale
- Exit 30 (Pearblossom Hwy) – 0.7 miles
- Merge onto Sierra Hwy – 0.8 miles
- Continue on Pearblossom Hwy – 4.5 miles
- Slight right at 138/Pearblossom Hwy – 5.8 miles
- Turn right at 106th St E – 2.1 miles
- Turn left at Butterfield Stage Rd – 0.2 miles
- Slight left at Hillview Lane – 0.2 miles
- Turn left – evacuation site on right – 213 feet

All exits on the 14 have been closed since yesterday. HOWEVER, Animal Acres evacuation helpers now have official permission to cross the blockade. When you reach the exit, approach one of the CHP blockade officers, identify yourself, and explain that you’re there to help with the re-evacuation.

TO BE AN ANIMALS ACRES STANDBY VOLUNTEER:
Email info [at] kinshipcircle.org
- FIRST & LAST NAME:
- PHONE NUMBERS:
- EMAIL ADDRESS:
- FULL ADDRESS:
SUBJECT LINE: Animal Acres Volunteer

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Update, 9/2/09: Please see the newest update here.

————————

Update, 8/31/09: Please see Kinship Circle’s most recent update here.

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I know it’s late, so I’ll make this quick: several animal rescue organizations, specifically Animal Acres (as described below by Kinship Circle) and possibly Gentle Barn (below KC’s alert) and others, need help evacuating from the California wildfires. If you’re in or near the area and able to help, keep reading. Otherwise, please spread the word to those who can provide assistance. Please and thank you.

Also, you can keep up to date on what’s happening on Twitter; try the hashtags #fire, #wildfires, #la, #evacuation and the like. At the time of this writing, none are trending topics, though hopefully that will change as people start to mobilize.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 6:35 PM
Subject: Animal Acres Evacuates In Path Of Calif. Fires

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK

8/30/09: Animal Acres Evacuates In The Path Of Calif. Fires

1. California Wildfires Move NW, Toward Animal Acres
2. Be On Emergency Standby With Animal Acres
3. Supplies/Equipment/Volunteers Needed For Animal Acres

Pets get help as flames approach: Rose Mary Berman of Palos Verdes Estates feeds a carrot to Norman one of 15 horses evacuated to Ernie Howlett Park in Rolling Hills Estates. Donna Littlejohn/Daily Breeze,

www.dailybreeze.com/latestnews/ci_13226056

============================

1. California Wildfires Move NW, Toward Animal Acres

8/29/09 – 8/30/09, PRESENT SITUATION / NOTES:

Fire moves toward Acton as officials hope for lower temperatures:

The strongest part of the Station fire burning in Angeles National Forest and La Canada Flintridge area is moving northwest of the park toward Acton, California, said Jennifer Sanchez of the U.S. Forest Service. [ANIMAL ACRES IS LOCATED IN ACTON]. Evacuations for some Acton residents are in place…

Since it began 8/26/09, the Station fire has burned 35,200 acres and prompted mandatory evacuations of 10,000 homes, according to Forest Service.

www.latimes.com/media/photo/2009-08/48663340.jpg

AUTHORIZED BY FRANK ALLEN, ANIMAL ACRES
Susie V Kaufman, Animal Acres Evacuation Coordinator
susie [at] jarrettlennon.com

8/30/09 — There is a mandatory evacuation in order on the northeast side of Acton. Animal Acres has begun the evacuation process. Currently, horses and donkeys are in the initial process of being moved from Animal Acres to Evacuation Site #2. The following is still only POSSIBLE: The next to be moved will be cows, followed by sheep, goats, and pigs, then birds. They will be moved to Evacuation Site #1. I know nothing about the emus.

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A few weeks back, I “read” (read: listened to) Douglas Brinkley’s The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (2006) – on audiobook. Since he made little mention of non-human animals in the book, initially I wasn’t going to bother posting the review here. But, lo and behold, prior to posting the review on Amazon, I discovered that Brinkley does discuss the plight of “pets” during and after Hurricane Katrina. For some undetermined reason, however, all but one (that I counted – and believe you me, I was counting!) reference to non-human animals was cut from the audio version of the book. Given that the book’s 768 pages were watered down into five discs totaling just under six hours of narration, much was cut, but. Still – weird, very weird.

The end result: while animal advocates will probably be frustrated by the audio version’s lack of attention to non-human animals (who, let’s face it, played a key role in the disaster, even if you don’t believe that they’re worthy of consideration on their own), methinks y’all (we’all?) might be happier with the unabridged print version.

Hey, it’s on my wishlist.

768 pages in 6 hours: What was lost in narration?

I initially “read” the audiobook version of Douglas Brinkley’s The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, a chronicling of the events leading up to and following Hurricane Katrina’s landfall(s) on the Gulf Coast in August 2005. Brinkley, a historian and New Orleans resident, offers a level-headed assessment of the local, state and federal government’s preparations for and response to what would ultimately be the single deadliest (and one of the costliest) hurricane in the United States’ history.

There’s plenty of blame to go around, and Brinkley serves up slices of humble pie to everyone from President George W. Bush, to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and FEMA Director Michael Brown, with an extra-heaping plate of fail saved especially for NOLA Mayor Ray Nagin. Brinkley also points out the failings of local police officers, government bureaucracy at the local, state and federal levels – he even finds fault with city founder Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, who initially chose the site of New Orleans and refused to abandon the city, even after a hurricane destroyed most of the existing structures, only four years into the city’s brief existence.

Brinkley also praises those who rose to the occasion: meteorologists who tried in vain to alert local and state officials to the impending disaster; police and military officers who performed their duties with bravery and compassion; neighbors who rescued one another when the government would not (or could not); and citizens the world over who rushed in to help displaced Gulf Coast residents. As infuriating as are the tales of government incompetence and corruption, these individual narratives of goodwill are equally inspiring.

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship CIrcle – KinshipCircleDisasterAid [at] accessus.net
Date: Sun, May 10, 2009 at 8:21 PM
Subject: Calif. Fires ­ Send Supplies/Donations For Animals

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
ONLINE VOLUNTEER FORM: Tell us what you can do! Be on file in our Disaster
Aid Network: www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/volunteer/default.html

**A special thanks to Kinship Circle member Ann McMullen, who lives in the wildfires area and alerted us to local needs for animal victims in California.

5/10/09: Calif. Fires – Send Supplies/Donations For Animals

1. California Fire Status + Resources For Animal Victims
2. Help Fire Victims: Santa Barbara Humane Society
3. Help Fire Victims: Cats In Santa Barbara Fires
4. Help Fire Victims: Santa Maria Valley Humane Society
5. PetSmart Charities Drives Supply-Stocked Trailer To Calif.
6. UAN/EARS Response In Santa Barbara Fire

LT: Volunteers with UAN’s Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) are caring for hundreds of animals who, with their owners, were forced from their homes by a massive wildfire. www.uan.org/index.cfm?navid=579

RT: Ranch hands work together to evacuate a herd of goats. Photo: Mark Boster, Los Angeles Times. FIRE UPDATES: jesusitafire.org
Many evacuation orders have been lifted today.

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Sat, Mar 28, 2009 at 3:29 AM
Subject: Icy Waters Rising – Help Animals In North Dakota

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK

ONLINE VOLUNTEER FORM: Tell us what you can do! Be on file in our Disaster Aid Network: www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/volunteer/default.html

3/28/09: Icy Waters Rising – Help Animals In North Dakota

1. North Dakota Flooding – Incident Summary Report
2. Help FM Humane Society Emergency Animal Shelter
3. Adopt-A-Pet Pitches In For Displaced Animals
4. More Local Rescues In Flooded North Dakota
5. UAN/EARS Response In Fargo
6. IFAW Expects Up To 5,000 Animals Need Aid
7. Other National Orgs Mobilizing For ND Animals

One of Doug Stensgard’s dogs, Annie, looks out over what used to be a 5-acre yard and an outbuilding, now flooded by the rising Red River in Fargo. Stensgard built an earthen and sandbag dike around his home in the hope of holding back the floodwaters. Associated Press.

As icy floodwaters climb to a record crest of 43 feet at Fargo’s Red River in North Dakota, forced and voluntary evacuations continue. The Red River is expected to crest at about 52 feet Monday or Tuesday in Grand Forks, ND. More rivers, creeks and streams rise around the state…

Kinship Circle has spoken to some resources below, as well as local authorities. If we’re asked to deploy any volunteers in our independent network, we’ll update you. In the meantime, below are ways to help flood-stranded animals via monetary donations and/or supplies. Fargo-Moorhead Humane Society lists a phone number for potential volunteers [#2 below]. YOU MUST CALL THIS NUMBER; circumstances change daily.

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Dear members of the mainstream news media,

Many of you are reporting that the death toll in the recent Australian wildfires now hovers around 200, with numbers likely to rise.

Take, for example, the following headlines:

Australia fire deaths rise to 200 (BBC News)

Australia wildfire death toll reaches 200 (the AP)

Talk Vic toll may reach 300 ‘a rumour’ (Sydney Morning Herald)

News flash: the “death toll” has already surpassed 200, at least 5,000 times over.

To wit: “Millions of animals are estimated to have died in the ferocious Black Saturday bushfires that swept across countryside, towns and farmland in Australia’s southeast.”
 

 
Millions of animals – men, women, children, chickens, canaries, koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, possums, deer, dogs, cats, horses, ducks, peacocks, lyrebirds, goats and dingoes, to name just a few of the affected species – have died. The death toll is catastrophic; the loss of life, tragic.

Please don’t imply that some of these lives are insignificant by excluding them from your discourse. If you mean that 200 human lives have been lost, say so. Your sloppy/lazy/negligent reporting and/or headline copyrighting does a disservice to the majority of the fire’s victims – and to those who care for their well-being.

Regards,

The veg*n language police

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare wildfires fires natural disaster australia victoria wildlife pet companion animal msm the media language death toll news in the news video video blogging

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 6:27 PM
Subject: Victoria Burning – Help Animal Fire Victims In Australia

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK

ONLINE VOLUNTEER FORM: Tell us what you can do! Be on file in our Disaster Aid Network: www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/volunteer/default.html

2/13/09: Victoria Burning – Help Animal Fire Victims

IN THIS ALERT:

1. KC Directory: Animal Relief Efforts You Can Help. Millions Died…
2. Nigel’s Animal Rescue: Send Money & Supplies ASAP
3. Wildlife Victoria: Overwhelmed With Fire Victims
4. Help For Wildlife: Long Recovery Ahead For Animals
5. RSPCA: Emergency Aid For Companion Animals
6. Wildlife Burning
7. IFAW: Team On The Ground For Animals In Victoria
8. Survivors Of The Fire – Symbols of Hope

Please review resources below to see WHO and HOW to help.

PHOTOS: Help For Wildlife, Victoria (Australia) — www.helpforwildlife.com/bushfires/photos.html

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