WSAVA Companion Animal Welfare Symposium, " ANIMAL WELFARE IN DISASTER SITUATIONS " WSAVA 23rd Congress, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday 6th October, 1998

1. WSAVA Companion Animal Welfare Symposium
SUPPORTED BY RALSTON PURINA
WSAVA 23rd
Congress, Sheraton Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Tuesday 6th
October, 1998
Gomez Lozada room, Sheraton Hotel, Buenos Aires.
ANIMAL WELFARE IN DISASTER SITUATIONS
The formal presentations will consist of six presentations of approximately 40 mins each in the
morning. The afternoon session will consist of moderated discussion and free communications on
companion animal welfare issues.
Formal Programme Chairman: Dr Roger Clarke
08.00
Veterinary Response to Disaster and Foreign Animal Disease Outbreak in the United States.
Col. Lynn Anderson, DVM, US Army.
Col. Anderson is the United States Army Veterinary Command Coordinator of Emergency Response
(VCEP) and oversees the activities of the US Army Veterinary Specialty Response Teams (VSRT's) in
the preparation for and deployment in the face of disaster or outbreak of Foreign Animal Disease.
His presentation will include the whole National Disaster Response as it relates to Animal Welfare
and Veterinary Medicine in the United States.
08.40
Summation of the real-life veterinary experiences of animal welfare management during
Hurricane Andrew.
Larry Dee, DVM
Dr Larry Dee, AAHA representative to WSAVA, and a veterinary practitioner from Florida, will
speak on the welfare management of companion animals following the recent hurricane Andrew in
the gulf. The outcomes of this disaster are very important to determine what are suitable protocols
for the management of similar disasters.
09.20
Follow-up on the outcomes of the animal welfare rescue and re-homing operations following the
Kobe earthquake in Japan.
Professor Mitsuaki Ohta, PhD
Prof. Ohta, from the Osaka Prefectural University will speak on the follow-up data from animal
welfare rescue operations following the Kobe Earthquake. There has been a large written report
published on this but it is in Japanese and is therefore inaccessible to most English speaking
veterinarians. Professor Ohta was involved in the welfare and rescue operations surrounding the
earthquake and was an active contributor to the report. Of particular interest is the fact that the
Japanese Welfare authorities chose not to destroy any but the most seriously injured companion
animals and, according to their report, managed to re-home nearly 80% of stray animals following
the mop-up operations.
10.0 to 10.30 Coffee break
10.30 to 11.10
Use and Training of Search and Rescue Dogs in Natural Disasters
Caroline Hebard
Caroline Hebard is an American who has been involved in search and rescue for 25 years. She has
been involved in search and rescue operations in Afghanistan, Mexico, Kobe, etc. She has trained
teams in Europe, Australia, and Iceland and is fluent in six languages. She was a member of the
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team and an Instructor for the FEMA Canine Search Specialist

2. Training Courses. Caroline recently co-authored an autobiography with Hank Whittemore titled "So
That Others May Live."
11.10 to 11.50
The Development of Contingency Plans to Cope with Animal Welfare Issues During Times of
Natural Disaster, by Florida State, County and the Florida Veterinary Medical Association
Larry Dee, DVM
The animal welfare operation following hurricane Andrew in Florida found many people unprepared.
Dr Dee, a veterinary practitioner from Florida who participated in the welfare operations, will report
on contingency plans developed by the State of Florida and the Florida VMA to cope with future
disasters; these may well serve as a model for other areas.
11.50 to 12.10
The Relationship between Animal Abuse and Child Abuse - a Human Disaster!
Professor Leopoldo Estol
Prof. Leopoldo Estol is an expert on the animal welfare situation in South America. He is foundation
Professor of the Chair in Animal Welfare at the Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, and the
former Chairman of the Sud-American Branch of the Animal Welfare, Well-being and Ethology
Committee at the World Veterinary Association. Prof Estol has been actively involved in animal
welfare for more than 10 years.
Professor Estol is currently developing an Animal Welfare Programme for the National Service of
Animal Health. Prof. Estol currently teaches Animal Welfare, Ethology and Ethics to
undergraduates and shares information on these issues with his peers and the general public.
12.30 to 14.00 Lunch break
Afternoon sessions
14.00 to 15.00
Moderated discussions of outcomes of morning seminar
15.00 to 16.00
Free communications 10 mins each
16.00 to 16.30 Coffee break
16.30 to 17.00 Discussions continue if demand is high enough.
Registration is free of charge to members of WSAVA member associations, and
registration will be available on-site..
However the organisers would appreciate prior registration if possible.
THE WSAVA IS GRATEFUL TO RALSTON PURINA FOR ITS VERY
GENEROUS SPONSORSHIP OF THIS INAUGURAL WSAVA ANIMAL
WELFARE SYMPOSIUM
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3. WSAVA Companion Animal Welfare Symposium
SUPPORTED BY RALSTON PURINA
REGISTRATION FORM
First Name……………………………Surname………………………………………
Address………………………………………………………………………………….
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Fax………………………………….email………………………………………….
WSAVA member association of which you are a member
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If you wish to present a short communication during the afternoon session, please
provide your proposed title. (Acceptance is at the discretion of the Chairman;
participants will be advised.)
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Please return to: Maggie Gething
Hon Secretary, WSAVA
28 Monkstown Road
Monkstown, Co Dublin
Ireland
FAX: +353 1 284 3364 Email: mgething@tinet.ie
WORLD SMALL ANIMAL VETERINARY ASSOCIATION
Supported by
RALSTON PURINA