PETA Crew Heads to Flood-Ravaged Texas

Rescue Team With Boat Will Help Retrieve Animals Left Behind in Wake of Hurricane Harvey

For Immediate Release:
August 29, 2017

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

PETA has dispatched a team of rescuers—trained in animal emergencies and equipped with a boat—to Texas, where life-threatening floods have forced thousands of people out of their homes, leaving behind an unknown number of dogs, cats, and other animal companions. Photos and video footage of the team’s rescue efforts will be tweeted (@PETA) and posted on PETA.org throughout the week.

“Animals in Texas need our help—from the dogs and cats stranded in flooded buildings to the lost animals overwhelming local animal shelters,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA is joining rescue efforts with a boat, food, and supplies to help get the job done.”

As flooding continues to ravage the southeastern U.S., PETA urges everyone to protect animals:

• Keep animals indoors with you if you choose not to evacuate. Never leave them chained or penned outside or unsupervised in a car, where they could suffer from heatstroke.
• If you do evacuate, don’t leave animals behind, where they could drown or be killed by falling debris, collapsing roofs, etc. Plan your destination: While some emergency shelters may turn animals away, hotels and motels usually accept small animals in an emergency.
• Watch for other animals in trouble, including neighbors’ animals and others who may have gotten loose or been left behind. If you see any animals in distress and can’t help, note their location and call authorities for help immediately.

Among numerous other animal-rescue efforts over the years, PETA (whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”) previously dispatched rescue teams in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina—which displaced or killed an estimated 250,000 animals—as well as the BP oil spill and last year’s devastating flooding in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.