Pet Evacuation & Transportation Act Becomes Law

Updated October 21, 2006

H.R. 3858 has become PL No. 109-308 and is now the law of the land.

The Pet Evacuation and Transportation Act of 2006 requires local and state jurisdictions to submit disaster preparedness plans that take people with household pets and service animals into account; if they fail to do so, these jurisdictions will not qualify for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The law allows the director of FEMA to make financial contributions to states and local authorities for animal emergency preparedness (including the procurement, construction, leasing or renovating of shelter facilities to allow these facilities to accommodate people and animals). It instructs FEMA to make necessary changes to the law to ensure that federal assistance provided in a disaster can assist in the rescue, care and shelter of individuals with pets and service animals.

Introduced by Representative Tom Lantos (D, CA) in January, and passed unanimously by both the house and senate, the law amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief & Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5196).

“Nobody wants to see people needlessly suffer, and possibly sacrifice their own safety, because they are confronted with the prospect of abandoning their pets,” Lantos said. To read the full context of PL No. 109-308, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:1:./temp/~c109WsBRJr::.

The new law requires governmental jurisdictions to accommodate pets and service animals in the event of an emergency.