Title: Lessons lost: a comparative analysis of animal disaster response in New Zealand

Authors: Steve Glassey; Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere; Mike King

Addresses: School of Social Sciences, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand ' Faculty of Law, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand ' Bioethics Centre, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand

Abstract: This paper compares the animal emergency management related lessons identified after two different disasters in New Zealand: the 2017 Edgecumbe Flood event and the 2019 Nelson Fires. It uses an ethnographic content analysis (ECA) to compare two 'after action' reports and identify common themes, and lesson learning between events. It concludes that only 7% of lessons identified in the Edgecumbe Flood were applied at the Nelson Fires, nearly two years afterwards. Common issues related to training, capability, law, policy, planning, information management and incident management. The paper makes several recommendations from its analysis for improving animal emergency management arrangements, both domestically and abroad.

Keywords: animal welfare; disaster response; lessons management; wicked problems; Edgecumbe; Nelson; fire; flood; New Zealand.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEM.2020.113943

International Journal of Emergency Management, 2020 Vol.16 No.3, pp.231 - 248

Received: 04 Nov 2019
Accepted: 31 Aug 2020
Published online: 02 Apr 2021 *

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