ARK - Animal Refuge Kansai (2011 Japan Earthquake/Tsunami)

FROM THE SITE:

HELP for the ANIMALS made HOMELESS by the EARTHQUAKE and TSUNAMI (2)
14th March 2011

ARK will accept as many animals as possible, those made homeless from the TOHOKU-PACIFIC earthquake and tsunami which occurred on 11th March.

The tragedy keeps on unfolding. Thousands of people are dead or missing and we can assume that most animals in the path of the tsunami, perished. Being a rural area, most dogs would have been chained, unable to escape. Foreigners are being recalled to their countries by their companies for their safety. Already we have a cat called Maggie. We had to pick her up from Kansai airport, as her owner left for Germany.

We are especially concerned about the number of pets left unattended in homes by people forced into the evacuation centres near the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, It is not clear how many would have been allowed in these centres with their owners. Others in evacuation centres have lost everything and if they have pets, will probably have to give them up.

Our office in Tokyo as well as foster homes will be able to take in some animals, others may be brought by air, once airports are open, to Osaka. We are preparing spaces to take them in here in our Nose shelter. We are also thinking of building a temporary shelter on the land in Sasayama (about 40 minutes from ARK by car). At present the land there is being prepared for building but no construction yet.

Any donations will be used for the animals made homeless in this terrible disaster.

Thank you all for your concern and help. We will do our best for these animals.

Elizabeth Oliver
Chairman of the Board of ARK

Donations can be made by our PayPal account listed on this homepage: www.arkbark.net
or through ARK Large Scale Rescue Fund : P.O. Account no: 00970-2-267840 (please write for earthquake animals)

or for those in the UK : Lloyds Bank, St. Helier, Jersey (branch no: 309461) Account name: Animal Refuge Kansai - ARK, Account no: 1381476, Sort no: 30-94-61 (please let us know by email your name, address and amount of donation)

For those who can't use PayPal, an international money postal order is acceptable.

Transfer by bank is not recommended since the banks often take a commission larger than the donation itself.

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FROM THE SITE:

APPEAL for HELP for the ANIMALS made HOMELESS by the EARTHQUAKE and TSUNAMI which devastated the TOHOKU-PACIFIC area in northern Japan, yesterday FRIDAY 11th MARCH

At present we can only witness the devastation caused by yesterday's earthquake and tsunami on our television screens and make contact with friends in Tokyo and other affected areas. Although a country like Japan experiences earthquakes frequently, nothing had prepared us for one on this scale. From our experience of the Great Hanshin earthquake on January 17th 1995, we know that the number of homeless pets may be immense. The priority after any earthquake is the saving of human life, moving people into emergency centres and then repairing the infrastructure. In the case of Kobe most of the animals that came to us came from the emergency centres where people has sought refuge with their pets. Others were ones that had been rescued from destroyed houses or off the street by local people. In that one year we took in 600 animals, mainly dogs and cats but also rabbits and birds.

Here at ARK we are preparing for what might be a huge influx of animals. We already have some facilities in place and a team of experienced staff able to deal with traumatised animals. We may have to build emergency shelters as well. The logistics of getting animal from the Tohoku/Sendai area is immense since roads and other transport links have been cut and may take time to restore. Our only means to get animals down to Osaka may be by helicopter, which was one method we used after the Kobe earthquake.

We will use our resources and know-how to help as many animals as we can, following this terrible disaster.

Please lend us your support either by sending volunteers or donations.

Postal Account:
Large Scale Rescue Fund
No. 00970-2-267840

PayPal (through homepage)
Please add "for earthquake animals"

We will keep everyone updated regularly through our homepage at www.arkbark.net

Thank you
Elizabeth Oliver
Chairman of the Board of ARK