"Hurricane Katrina exposed one of the major gaps in our government's disaster plans," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society, in the release.
"Pets are beloved members of our families, and many people will refuse to evacuate if they're forced to leave their animals behind. The Congress must act before the next disaster hits in order to prevent people from confronting this awful choice."
The Humane Society is joined by the Doris Day Animal League, the Best Friends Animal Society, the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and other animal welfare organizations in support of the bill.
Under the PETS Act, a city or state would be ineligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding unless its disaster plans included steps to safely evacuate people with pets or service animals.
The bi-partisan legislation was introduced nearly four weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of the Gulf Coast and left thousands of animals stranded during the flooding and subsequent evacuation of New Orleans.
Many of these were left behind because of a government policy of forced abandonment of companion animals. Stories of pets being ripped from the arms of crying children, seniors being forced to choose between life-saving medication and their pets, and the blind being told that their service dogs would not be allowed at evacuation centers made national headlines in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
"The sight of evacuees choosing between being rescued or remaining with their pets, perhaps even having to leave behind the trained and faithful helping animals that some people with disabilities rely on every day, was just heartbreaking," said representative Lantos in a press release on Sept. 22.
"Our legislation will put an end to that."
In a related release, Lantos and Shays said that there are "significant problems, including serious health and safety risks to the disaster area, that are exacerbated by the abandoning of pets." They added: "Many of these problems can be mitigated or eliminated simply through the proper planning that this legislation advocates."
According to the Humane Society, some 4,300 animals from New Orleans and surrounding parishes have been rescued since Hurricane Katrina struck.
With help from the ASPCA, the Louisiana SPCA, local animal control agencies and individual rescuers, the Humane Society — the nation's largest animal protection organization — has vowed to continue rescuing animals affected by the storm.
