Staff at South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) have been given a gold award by the RSPCA in recognition of plans put in place to look after pets during an emergency or crisis.
The RSPCA Animal Welfare ‘Footprints’ Award was won by emergency planners at the authority for best practice in animal welfare.This award was made in recognition of the work done in relation to protecting pets during emergencies and looking after pets that have been evacuated from danger.
This is the second time the team has won an award, last year they were given a bronze award for contingency planning.
Leader of the Council, Cllr John Calway, said:
“Many of our residents may not be familiar with the work of the emergency planning team and so I am delighted that they have been recognised by the RSPCA for the work they do behind the scenes. By drawing up and testing plans for evacuation in the event of stormy weather or flooding, they are fully trained to help you and your pet to safety in the event of an emergency.”
Simon Hailwood, emergency planning manager, added:
“We are delighted to have been given a Gold award this year, one of only seven Gold awards that were achieved nationally. So residents in South Gloucestershire should have peace of mind that in a crisis, it’s not only their welfare at the heart of everything we do, but we also have plans for taking care of their pets as well.”
Emergency planners had to demonstrate that they had developed and exercised its plans to evacuate and look after pets in case of an emergency or a crisis. The rigorous plans are often tested to make sure they would work in the event of a real situation and it is this work which the RSPCA congratulated them on.
The RSPCA wrote to the team to reward them for their efforts:
“The Society is delighted that the Local Authority has progressed so rapidly to the Gold Footprint level. We hope that this footprint provides some recognition of the great work that the council had put in to reach this level.”
If you are interested in finding out more about the team’s work and how they can look after you and your pets then visit the SGC website: Preparing your pets for emergencies
