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Planning for Animal Needs During a Radiological Incident

June 17, 2025 | Annie Evans, Kathy Jorgensen

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Radiological incidents — such as nuclear power plant accidents, nuclear detonations, or an attack with radiological materials — have the potential to be high impact, mass casualty emergencies. Responding to these types of incidents requires a high level of coordination and collaboration from experts across different fields. Public health, emergency management, health care, radiation control, animal, and agricultural professionals are among the many groups that would need to be involved in standing up and informing a response.

The National Alliance for Radiation Readiness (NARR) is a coalition of member organizations and federal partners who aim to be the “voice of health” in readiness for radiological incidents. This coalition brings together cross-sector experts and provides them with a space to coordinate and to promote radiation readiness. NARR serves as the connecting point between various levels of government and the variety of experts that would be involved in a response to a radiological incident. Through its member organizations, NARR aims to reach tens of thousands of relevant professionals to amplify situational awareness, key information, subject matter expertise, and just-in-time capacity building materials in preparation for and during a radiological incident.

Recently, NARR invited the National Alliance for State Agricultural and Animal Emergency Programs (NASAAEP) to join the coalition as the 20th member organization. Inviting NASAAEP into the coalition added a connection to experts with valuable animal and agricultural expertise which was previously not represented in NARR.

Who is NASAAEP?

NASAAEP is a group of animal and agriculture professionals with the expertise and authority to assist with animal issues in disasters and disease response. The primary goal of NASAAEP is to provide communication and networking to facilitate information sharing and effective planning at local, state, and federal levels. Increasing awareness of animal issues in disasters ultimately increases the capacity to care for all species during emergencies like radiological incidents.

NASAAEP is a collaborative alliance of state programs charged with planning, preparing for, and responding to disasters involving animals. Members include agencies with legislative responsibility for animal issues such as state departments of agriculture or health, or boards of animal health. NASAAEP membership also includes people who serve in emergency management agencies, response groups such as state animal/agricultural response teams, medical reserve corps teams, and other industry groups.

As a new member of NARR, these experts stand ready to support planning for and responding to the health impacts of radiological incidents on animals.

Why is it important to include animal expertise in radiation readiness?

Emergency preparedness and planning involves planning for the whole family, which will include pets, service animals, or livestock. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, in 2024, there were approximately 89.7 million household dogs and cats in the United States. Nearly 12 million households own other types of pets such as birds, small mammals, and reptiles.

Household pets and service animals are often considered part of the family. Regardless of the role they serve, the bond between humans and animals may be so strong that a family is reluctant or unable to be separated from their animal in emergencies. Further, under the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Regulations, people with disabilities must have equal access to shelters and emergency services, which does include their service animals. The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006 also reinforces this by requiring FEMA to ensure that state and local emergency plans address the needs of people with pets and service animals (not livestock) throughout the disaster cycle. Therefore, it is critical to include animals in emergency planning.

Recent disasters have demonstrated that people may not evacuate if they cannot take their household pets and service animals with them. People may become distressed if they do not receive assurances that they and their household pets will be collocated or cohabitated when seeking shelter. Those who are forced to evacuate without their animals may attempt to re-enter the evacuated area to rescue their household pets. In either case, this places a greater burden on the first responders that are tasked with protecting the safety of people within the impacted area. There is also evidence to support that pet ownership can be a protective factor against distress and mental health impacts in the long-term during recovery from an emergency. This would be critical in a radiological incident when the mental health impacts could be significant and long lasting.

What expertise and information can NASAAEP share?

NASAAEP’s animal and agricultural expertise can provide a unique perspective that is extremely valuable in response to a variety of emergencies, including radiological incidents. Because emergencies affect humans, animals, and their shared environment, emergency planning considerations using the One Health approach is vital. One Health promotes collaboration across sectors; during emergencies, a coordinated, collaborative, cross-sector approach can strengthen capacity to respond to such events. Incorporating a One Health approach, human health, animal health, environmental health, and social sciences can be integrated into emergency responses, providing better outcomes for all.

In 2023, NASAAEP updated several documents sharing current best practices in animal emergency management. These documents share best practices on decontamination, transport and evacuation, mass care and shelter, to name a few. This project was the result of extensive work by subject matter experts over a 24-month period, guided by the Best Practices Working Group Steering Committee and subjected to a rigorous external peer review process. These best practices not only help inform veterinary or agricultural efforts but can also help inform health agency emergency planning efforts.

Learn more about the NARR, NASAAEP, and radiation readiness: