How do horse guardians respond to bushfire threat? Dr Kirrilly Thompson Dr Bradley Smith Joshua Trigg Laura Haigh
Animals & natural disasters
Large companion animals?
What makes horses and their people ‘special’? • Often companion animals in livestock bodies – Similar desires to save, rescue, risk life and return – ‘lifestock’ (Thompson et al 2015)
• You can’t squash a horse in a car • Not usually kept in human domestic spaces – Peripheral to ‘household’ plans – Their spaces also require preparation
• Agistment (livery/board) • May keep horse elsewhere – evacuation and return issues, and/or • May be responsible for other people’s horses Photo: Country Fire Service South Australia
Method
SA Bushfires Taskforce January 2014
Fire
Started
Lasted
Losses
Lightning strikes in January 2014 14 Jan 2014 31 days 35,000 hectares
Bangor
Example of Long campaign
Fire
Started
Lasted
Losses
Example of
Rockleigh
14 Jan 2014
4 days
1 dwelling
MulFple fire events 3rd fire in 12 months
Fire
Started
Lasted
Losses
Example of
Eden Valley
17 Jan 2014
4 days
25,000 hectares
Rapid onset fire
Three different interests 1. Community and programs 2. Local bushfire risk percepFon & preparedness 3. InformaFon, warnings, triggers and acFon
Bushfires in South Australia • No forced evacuations • CFS Community Engagement team – Education – Bushfire preparedness for horse owners workshops
Poster: Horse FederaFon of South Australia
• Most dangerous options – Wait and see – Leave at the last minute – No plan at all
• Have a written Bushfire Survival Plan 1. Stay and Defend 2. Leaving Early
• Safest options for horse owners – Pre-emptive re-location of horses when an Extreme or Catastrophic Fire Danger Rating is issued – Prepare the property to Stay and Defend – Don’t ride through it...!
Data collection 1. Online survey across SA (n=606) 2. Interviews with affected communities (n=171) 3. ‘Tick n Flick’ 4. Autoethnography 2015 Sampson Flat fires
Photo: BNHCRC
Findings
Intended actions
10 had BAPs
7 plans included horses 41%
3 planned to relocate horse
59%
3 did not include horses in their BAP
17
7 no plan at all
4 planned for horse to stay on property
UlHmate acHons 4 full evacuaFons 24%
2 had a plan incl horses
6 evacuaFons 35% 2 parFal evacuaFons 12% 17 Responsible for horse/s 11 did not evacuate 65%
2 did not have any plan
1 did not have a plan 1 had a plan but changed at the last minute
Quantitative data suggest…
• 41% of horse owners did not have a BAP • 70% with a BAP did not include their horse • Those with horses in their BAPs are fairly evenly split with ‘stay’ (57%) v ‘go’ (43%) plans • Relocation action < intention (35% relocated) – Did they have/activate a ‘stay and defend’ plan?
• 3 last minute relocations • Plans do not predict action (5 went to plan) • No agisted horses were relocated
Qualitative data suggest… • Reasons for non evacuation and last minute evacuation – Low risk perception – High self-efficacy/Optimistic bias – Belief that common sense replaces planning – Low community connectedness – Use horse behaviour as an evacuation trigger – Plans don’t identify safer places for relocation
• Some misguided intentions – Cut fences, open gates, release horses
• Reasons for relocation – High horse community connectedness • Information dissemination • Transport assistance
– Identification of safer relocation places
Poster: Country Fire Service South Australia
Implications • Horses & eque-cultures may be a conduit for engagement strategies (Thompson et al, 2014) • There is a need to encourage more planning by owners • People need more than “backup” plans • Algorithmic ‘if this, then that’ decision-making could be encouraged • If agisting, plans need to be discussed between horse & property owners • Plans need to be tailored for people with horses in multiple sites • How can unintentional consequences of community connectedness be managed?
Next steps • • • •
Impact of number of horses on action Intentions and actions of agistees as well as agistors Unintended consequences of community connectivity Sampson Flat fires February 2015
To follow the project on Facebook ‘CQUni – animals and disasters: saving
human and animal lives’
To see the special issue on Horses and Risk Animals Journal MDPI hRp://www.mdpi.com/journal/animals/ special_issues/horses-‐risk To follow the field on LinkedIn ‘Animals in Disasters and Emergencies’
To get publica>ons Kirrilly Thompson on Research Gate
To email me
[email protected] To follow me on twi@er
DrKirrilly
