Written by: Karel Minor, President & CEO of Humane Pennsylvania
Humane Pennsylvania recently sent out an email appeal asking our supporters to donate to another organization, the
Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team (PASART). If you think organizations don’t normally invite people to give money to another organization, you are correct! But in this case, PASART’s success benefits us and the animals in Berks and Lancaster County and beyond.
Unloading surviving chickens
PASART is a national caliber organization that serves to assist the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and other state and local responders with how to handle animals in the event of emergencies. It was only the third SART formed in the US, Berks County was one of the earliest County Animal Response Teams (CART) formed way back in 2006, and Humane Pennsylvania was and remains the only animal welfare organization which took on leadership of its local CART.
Berks CART has been activated in floods, ice storms, blizzards, hurricanes, and even in large scale animal disasters like the recent case of a trailer load of crated chickens being lost all over the highway. Our expertise in handling animals allows other first responders and agencies to focus on the human aspect of their job, while we focus on the humane aspects. Our CART is self-funded through donations and relies on Humane PA staff and volunteers.
PASART receives extremely limited State funding, has only one part time employee, and coordinates CART efforts around
Some of the chickens Berks CART was mobilized to rescue
the entire state. If we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t have the crucial support we need to do our job well. That’s why their financial health is important to us. They make a very little bit of money go a very long way. That’s why Humane Pennsylvania is proud to support them, why I am proud to serve on their board of directors, and why I hope you will consider supporting them financially with a donation.
When you give to them, you help Humane Pennsylvania, too. Disasters can and do happen here. We need a strong Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team to be ready and able. Please click on the link below to make a donation now and please check out their website to learn more about the importance of this high quality animal welfare agency.
