Who can rescue your cat? Brown tells ASPCA to work out disaster plan

Two national organizations that specialize in disaster response teamed up this year to secure a greater role in sheltering and rescuing animals endangered by California wildfires and earthquakes.

But, their efforts to open unlicensed temporary animal shelters during state emergencies was opposed by local veterinarians, and vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The American Red Cross and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had lobbied the Capitol for a bill to allow out-of-state veterinarians to operate such shelters, and to perform medical treatment, without seeking a state permit.

Part of the concept was to allow shelters adjacent to Red Cross shelters for people. ASPCA lobbyist Kevin O’Neill said that would encourage residents to leave their homes when ordered to evacuate an area.

The California Veterinary Medical Assn. objected, saying pet owners might have no recourse if something happened to their pets. But Executive Director Valerie Fenstermaker said this week that the association was worried that out-of-state veterinarians would encroach on what she said is already a robust disaster response system run by the state’s veterinary doctors and schools.

“We have a system of systems that’s really critical during a disaster,” Fenstermaker said. “We have been through many disasters…. The door is open to anyone who wants to work within that system.”

Brown this week vetoed what he called the “well-intentioned” bill. He said his emergency operations office and the state agency that oversees fairgrounds where Red Cross shelters are often opened believe temporary pet shelters “could lead to confusion during a disaster.”

Brown directed the agencies to seek a compromise with the Red Cross and ASPCA.

For more, go to www.latimes.com/politics.