Attachment, Bushfire Preparedness, Planning, and Response among Animal Guardians: A South Australian Case Study

Conclusion Despite our modest sample size, we were able to distinguish participants with high and low animal scores according to a total of 18 characteristics. Participants with a high animal attachment score were more likely to be female, older, own a horse, dog or cat; have more than the average number of animals, prepare small animal and horse evacuation kits, have dogs who are microchipped and wear a council registration disc on their collar; prepare written plans, stay home or close to home on potentially catastrophic fire risk days, evacuate with their horses, and take personal risks to their own safety to save animals. Participants with low animal attachment scores were more likely to be male, younger, own animals other than dogs/cats/horses, not have an evacuation kit, be confident giving first aid to small animals and horses, perceive that animals have intuition or instincts about responding to fire, evacuate small animals and horses for which they did not have primary responsibility and not see their evacuation as good practice or feel relieved that they had evacuated unnecessarily. Whilst our study is high in ecological validity, future research with larger samples sizes is required to determine the generalizability of our findings to animal owners and guardians in other locations, facing fires with other characteristics, especially with regard to owners and guardians with low levels of attachment. Competing Interests Statement The authors have declared that no co...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: research