American Humane Deploying Rescue Team to Search for and Save Animals in Devastated Bahamas

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- American Humane, the country's first national humane organization, which has been saving animals in disasters for more than 100 years, is deploying its rescue team to the hard-hit Bahamas to conduct animal search and rescue missions, helping reunite pets with their owners and responding to urgent animal needs.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) extended an invitation to American Humane to assist in the Bahamas, which was decimated when Category 5 Hurricane Dorian stalled over it on Sept. 3.

"This is by far one of the most intense and traumatic disasters we have been involved with, and the danger is not over," said American Humane President and CEO Robin Ganzert, PhD. "Downed power lines, dangerous debris, and contaminated water are just a few of the extensive challenges our team will face. Animal survivors will search for food and water, and will likely be injured, disoriented or confused. They will be scared and more aggressive or self-protective. It is why we are only sending our most experienced rescuers."

"With increasingly frequent and increasingly destructive natural disasters, so many animals are in crisis," Dr. Ganzert continued. "We are grateful to all the generous supporters who are sending in donations to help our best friends in their worst times, and to those who make it possible for our Rescue team to have lifesaving equipment and supplies at the ready, most notably Zoetis, whenever disasters strike."

American Humane has been busy at work since before Dorian struck, evacuating scores of shelter animals in its path. In the first wave of U.S. rescues, American Humane volunteers rushed to pick up vulnerable pets at a South Carolina shelter and drove them more than 700 miles to safe havens in New York and New Jersey where they found lifesaving refuge from the storm and, just as important, are in the process of finding forever homes. 

About American Humane and the American Humane Rescue program
American Humane is the country's first national humane organization, founded in 1877. The American Humane Rescue program has been involved in virtually every major relief effort during the past 100 years, starting in World War I when we rescued and cared for 68,000 war horses wounded each month on the battlefields of Europe, the Great Ohio Flood of 1937, Pearl Harbor, the terror attacks on 9/11, the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, Hurricanes Andrew, Camille, Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Maria, Irma, Matthew and Florence, the tornadoes in Joplin and Oklahoma, the Louisiana, West Virginia and Oklahoma floods, and the California wildfires.

To support American Humane's lifesaving efforts, please visit www.AmericanHumane.org.

About the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW):
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is a global non-profit helping animals and people thrive together. We are experts and everyday people, working across seas, oceans, and in more than 40 countries around the world. We rescue, rehabilitate, and release animals, and we restore and protect their natural habitats. The problems we're up against are urgent and complicated. To solve them, we match fresh thinking with bold action. We partner with local communities, governments, non-governmental organizations, and businesses. Together, we pioneer new and innovative ways to help all species flourish. See how at ifaw.org.

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SOURCE American Humane