Published works

The first year of the MAiD project comprised an extensive scoping phase. We identified the challenges and needs of responders and stakeholders, we reviewed plans, policies, and initiatives, and identified a number of priority areas with our project end-users and other stakeholders.

In the second year of the project we transitioned to a series of four field work studies. The first two studies are looking at the experiences of people and animals in recent Australian disaster events. The first is focussed on informal volunteers who converge to help animals and the issues this can cause for communication and integration in the formal emergency management system and the effective utilisation of community skills and capacity. The second is focussed on the experiences of animal owners impacted by two recent bushfires in South Australia. These two studies will document problems, issues, and positive outcomes and, with end user support, will hopefully influence engagement, guidance, and practice.
The remaining, third and fourth, field studies are more ambitious. These are looking to develop methodologies and processes.

The third study is developing human-animal risk mapping in bushfire prone areas in Tasmania; combining animal ownership distributions and owners’ behavioural intentions for themselves and their animals. This is a multi-stakeholder study intended to assist planning and resource allocation decision-making for emergency services, primary industries, local councils, and police. If the methodology is successful it should be applicable to all hazards.

The fourth study is supporting the development of an Animal Ready Community (ARC) in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. This study is facilitating, supporting, and evaluating the impacts of a community-led project to raise awareness of, and engagement in, animal-related emergency preparedness and planning. If successful this could provide a blueprint for similar ARCs to be set up in other interested communities.

In addition to our four field studies we also have PhD research being conducted in South Australia investigating animal owner-responder interactions during bushfires, seeking to understand owner decision-making and assist responders in supporting animal owners before, during, and after disaster events.