This is the team that rescued our pets from work for us.
Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) usually focuses on the rescue and recovery of human victims. As the Wellington SPCA Animal Rescue Unit recently demonstrated in Christchurch, following the 22 February 2011 6.3 earthquake, animal welfare also needs to be part of emergency response.
The team travelled to Christchurch on Sunday 27 February and returned to Wellington on Thursday 10 March. The eight team members had 10 operational days performing tasks which included:
* Rescuing animals confined within buildings that owners were unable to return to due to damage and/or cordons.
* Assisting rescue teams with animal management while they completed the search of every building in the CBD area (e.g. control the family rottweiler while rescue teams searched a house)
* Establish and maintaining feeding stations for animals within cordoned zones
The crew members deployed to Christchurch were highly trained in technical rescue, animal skills and have a range of USAR qualifications.
