Close to 400 pet dogs and cats have been forced into temporary makeshift shelters in Fukushima Prefecture because their owners live in temporary housing or other arrangements that do not allow animals.
Close to 400 pet dogs and cats have been forced into temporary makeshift shelters in Fukushima Prefecture because their owners live in temporary housing or other arrangements that do not allow animals.The animals were found in the no-entry zone established in a 20-kilometer radius from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.A prefectural task force made up of Fukushima prefectural government officials as well as members of the prefectural veterinarians association opened the second temporary shelter in Miharu on Oct. 1.Renovations were done on a vacant pet shop to create 78 private rooms for dogs and 40 spaces for cats. What used to be the pet shop parking lot is now used to allow the dogs to run around.Each dog room has dimensions of about 1.7 meters in depth, about 1.2 meters in width and about 2 meters in height. A folding bed is installed by the far wall.The rooms for cats are somewhat smaller, but there is still enough space for the animals to jump around.Soon after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, the task force opened the first temporary shelter in Fukushima city. The pets were placed in cages and the stress felt by the animals led to diarrhea. The animals also became more aggressive, biting staff members.For those reasons, plans for a new facility called for measures that would relieve the stress felt by the pets.Many of the pets left behind in the no-entry zone were collected by prefectural government and Environment Ministry officials after requests to do so were obtained from their owners. There have also been cases of pets being picked up during patrols of the zone by officials.The number of pets collected increased from about June when more residents began returning to their homes for short periods of a few hours. On some days as many as a dozen pets were found.Until now 489 dogs and 282 cats have been rounded up.While many of the 771 animals have been returned to their owners, a total of 367 are still in temporary shelters. That includes 273 dogs and 94 cats.In addition to the two temporary shelters, veterinary hospitals in Fukushima Prefecture and elsewhere have taken in the animals.The owners of those pets now live in housing that does not allow animals. In some cases, the identity of the owner is unknown.The task force faces a constant shortage of staff workers and funds.Rather than use public funds, the task force is relying on donations as well as a fund established by the Japan Veterinary Medical Association to help pets during emergencies and disasters.The task force has spent about 28 million yen ($365,000) from the 37 million yen or so it has received.With the number of pets collected expected to increase and due to the need to care for the animals for a long period, the task force faces manpower and budgetary shortages.