Katrina Animal Rescue Efforts Stagnate as Aid Workers Await Deployment
Hundreds of Animals Dying While Groups Await Permission to Administer Urgently Needed Aid  

Jackson, Miss. -  Project Hope, a project of the international animal protection organization, In Defense of Animals (IDA), is calling on state officials to allow animal protection groups permission to enter disaster stricken areas of Mississippi. The group, which has set up a rescue and recovery effort at the County Fairgrounds in Jackson along with Mississippi Emergency Response for Animals (MEPA) and the Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) to help animals affected by Hurricane Katrina, is prepared to venture into areas affected by the storm and deliver medical assistance and supplies, yet is being halted by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

“We understand we could be facing dangerous situations and that precautions need to be taken. We appreciate measures being taken to ensure our safety,” says Project Hope Director, Doll Stanley. “But we are sitting here in a parking lot with a truckload of supplies waiting for permission to utilize our resources while animals are dying for lack of food and water.”

The Project Hope team secured a generous donation of supplies for the rescue operation from PETsMART charities including food, carriers and crates to house animals at the rescue center, as well as to transport animals to shelters and foster homes. While the group awaits permission to use the highway to help animals in need, news media outlets are reporting distraught evacuees being forced to leave their beloved animal companions behind and some even having animals euthanized for fear of their welfare once turned over to authorities

IDA’s Project Hope Sanctuary, located in Grenada, Miss. provides a permanent caring home to animals rescued from abusive situations in rural Mississippi, serves as an adoption facility for animals in need of placement, and conducts cruelty investigations and rescues. 

IDA has established a Hurricane Katrina Animal Relief Fund to finance transportation, food for animals and volunteers, and to repair the damage done by the storm at the Project Hope sanctuary. Any funds exceeding the Project Hope team’s expenses will be donated directly to the Louisiana SPCA in New Orleans, which has been hit hard by the storm. IDA is accepting donations to support its relief efforts on its web site IDAUSA.org or by mail. Send checks to: Hurricane Relief, c/o In Defense of Animals, 131 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA 94941.