Inclusion of tactical veterinary medicine in the contingency plan of the city of Recife in cases of catastrophes and disasters
Mitigation, disasters, companion animals, civil defense.
Disasters and catastrophes are situations that occur abruptly as a consequence of adverse phenomena, predictable or not, but often instigated by the intensification of human intervention in ecosystems. When these episodes occur, the consequences can be terrible not only for human beings, but also for animals, which are usually forgotten in contingency plans. As far as the latter are concerned, almost in all cases they are non-governmental organizations that take responsibility for the gaps left by state services. In Recife, we do not have an example of legislation that includes, in fact, animals in a policy of risk reduction in situations of catastrophe and disaster, being only mentioned in them, but without any effective strategy in mitigation actions, rescue or post-traged maintenance. This results in poor planning, improper slaughter of animals in risk areas, high mortality and lack of technical expertise. The animals have taken more and more space and importance in the lives of their guardians, being treated as family members, and associated with this becomes increasingly clear the need for the recognition and performance of Veterinary Tactical Medicine of Disasters and Disasters that still presents enormous challenges, but is essential in planning and multidisciplinary involvement of the public and private sector. Whether it is a hurricane or flood, an earthquake or an act of terrorism, animals must receive the necessary care and veterinarians are vital to response and recovery efforts before, during, and after disasters by working with immediate action to mitigate the negative effects generated not only to them but to their guardians. Given the above, we created an extension of the contingency plan for the city of Recife, including animals and, consequently, Tactical Veterinary Medicine, formulating a plan on how to proceed with rescue, evacuation, triage, adequate treatment and euthanasia in all disaster situations.