JUL - AUGJAPAN EARTHQUAKE

Log 4: We Are Alive

JUL - AUGJAPAN EARTHQUAKE & TSUNAMI JUL - AUGJAPAN EARTHQUAKE

Log 4: We Are Alive

Chickens are stranded in radiation zones, Kinship Circle — Namie lies vacant.
25km from the nuclear reactor.
Hundreds of birds, left behind.
Starved. Dehydrated. Afraid.

Namie lies vacant.
25km from the nuclear reactor.
Hundreds of birds, left behind.
Starved. Dehydrated. Afraid.

Chickens, weak from lack of food/water (c) Kinship Circle

Hens left to die are cared for, (c) Kinship Circle — Hope For Hens

Hope For Hens

Kinship Circle DARTOver the summer, Sister Michael Marie, Adrienne Usher and Alex Lane work from Club Lohas in Inawashiro, Fukushima with Susan Roberts, Selena Hoy, Fran Conigliaro and more JEARS volunteers.

PERMIT TO FEED CHICKENS IN 30KM ZONEJEARS, with Kinship Circle's help, has fed chickens since residents fled the 30km nuclear zone. But on August 1, authorities sealed off an area. A one-month permit has just been acquired. One volunteer in a registered vehicle may enter with assist staff.

KINSHIP CIRCLE SENDS VETERINARY AIDKinship Circle field officer Sister Michael Marie is a certified vet tech who also works for federal FEMA. As part of our save birds team, she examines chickens weak from lack of food or water. Japan rescuer Fran Conigliaro brings birds home, near Tokyo, to recuperate. Sister Michael and Alex Lane, with Selena Hoy of JEARS, drive to deserted Namie (25km from the nuclear reactor) to feed hundreds of chickens left in a coop when a farmer evacuated due to radiation risk. We hope to find him, for permission to foster-home his birds. Volunteers are questioned at police blockades on feeding trips. License plates are recorded each time.

Alone

Sister Michael Marie examines chickens worn down from lack of food, water and care, (c) Kinship Circle

Abandoned hens sit atop eggs in evacuated Namie, 25km from the destroyed nuclear reactor. When we arrive to feed chickens, police squads question volunteers and record license plate numbers. We are carefully watched any time we aid animals near or within radiation exclusion zones. To safeguard against radiation levels that may spike with wind surges, we always suit-up in protective Tyveck gear. Radiation levels can suddenly rise or shift directions. Animals still roam disaster areas, especially communities that fled in the wake of the reactor breach. JEARS and Kinship Circle — along with kindhearted citizens, firemen, road and construction crews — leave food for deserted animals. We take the orphaned or discarded. Others are guardian-request rescues, boarded at Club Lohas Shelter until their people have means to care for them again. Cows graze within the 20km zone, but concrete barriers block access. Some private citizens trespass around the blockades to feed and rescue animals.

Alex Lane and Jim with rescued cat, by Eija Niskanen

Alex Lane dons Tyveck gear to feed left-behind chickens in radiation risk areas, (c) Kinship Circle, Japan Earthquake

Chicks, dogs, cats, cows abandoned, (c) Kinship Circle

Alex Lane contains a rooster, abandoned without food/water since his caregiver evacuated, (c) Kinship Circle

Trixie heals at Animals Friends Niigata, Kinship Circle — Trixie's Chance

Trixie's Chance

Fans of Trixie fell in love with the Shiba Inu mix found wandering Minamisoma roadways in the dark of the night. Despite fear, starvation and pain from a badly wounded front paw, Trixie had nothing but sweetness and cuddles for her Kinship Circle-JEARS rescuers. Today Trixie still happily resides with JEARS' Susan Mercer at the HEART Tokushima shelter. Her paw and overall health continue down a path of recovery. Sometimes, animal disaster survivors like Trixie get a second chance for contentment, love and joy.

MINAMISOMATrixie was originally spotted on a highway bound for Minamisoma, a lone silhouette against a desolate landscape. Though she slipped in and out of night-time shadows, the Shiba Inu mix clearly hobbled on three legs. Trixie cautiously kept her distance from rescuers until hunger finally compelled her to approach us. She could not bear weight on her mangled front right paw. Was she hit by a car or hurt in the chaos of disaster debris? We do not know, but the dog clearly had been a companion animal with a home now lost.

Kinship Circle's Sister Michael Marie and Cheri Deatsch, along with Susan Roberts of JEARS, steadied her so she could gobble down food. Trixie was ravenous after her unknown sojourn without food. We eventually coaxed her into our vehicle for a long ride to the disaster shelter in Niigata. Trixie was so friendly, we knew she'd been someone's special girl — abandoned, orphaned or lost in the disaster. Photos (c) Kinship Circle, Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, Radiation Crisis

Trixie, rescued from a dark Fukushima road, hobbles on a badly mangled paw, (c) Kinship Circle Japan Earthquake — Trixie, found on a dark Fukushima road, is starving – despite fear and pain from a badly mangled front paw. We are able to coax her into our vehicle for a long ride to the disaster shelter in Niigata.

Photo © Kinship Circle, Japan Quake 2011

Trixie, found wounded on a dark Fukushima road, relaxed in a warm car ride back to the disaster shelter (c) Kinship Circle, Japan Earthquake 2011

Kinship Circle's Cheri Deatsch and Sister Michael Marie soothe Trixie as they slip a lead around the injured dog's neck, (c) Kinship Circle

We do not know if Trixie was abandoned or left without caregivers after Japan's tragedy, (c) Kinship Circle, Japan Earthquake 2011

Cheri Deatsch and Sister Michael Marie pull off the highway to rescue this wounded Shiba mix in Fukushima, (c) Kinship Circle, Japan

JEARS and Kinship Circle volunteers with Trixie (c) Kinship Circle, Japan Earthquake 2011 — JEARS and Kinship with Trixie. From left: Susan Roberts, JEARS cofounder; Kinship Circle's Cheri Deatsch and Adrienne Usher; a JEARS volunteer holds Trixie; Tim Exley

Photo © Kinship Circle, Japan Quake 2011

Japan earthquake/tsunami ruins (c) Kinship Circle — Ghost Towns

RADIATION EVACUATION UPDATES

Ghost Towns

RADIATION EVACUATION UPDATES

The 20km radiation exclusion zone, sealed since April, has thousands of animals trapped inside. Evacuees want their companions back, as evidenced by unprecedented complaints to Fukushima Prefecture offices. With news crews present, residents enter the 20km no-go zone at the end of July. They join Veterinary Association for Fukushima Animals (VAFA), a government organization sanctioned to retrieve animals stranded in vacant areas. JEARS and Kinship Circle are in communication with VAFA. On this trip, volunteers are only allowed to recover animals whose guardians have issued specific requests. *We are not at liberty to publish more details about rescue in the 20km nuclear zone.*

Meanwhile, animals struggle in regions 30, 40 and 50km from the nuclear reactor. Exclusion blockades change as winds alter the trajectory of invisible radiation and cause sudden spikes. Dogs roam. Cats wait along empty roads. With shelters full, we do food and water drops. Police see animals daily. It softens them. At one roadblock, they hand over two kittens.

The 20km radiation exclusion zone, sealed since April, has thousands of animals trapped inside. Evacuees want their companions back, as evidenced by unprecedented complaints to Fukushima Prefecture offices. With news crews present, residents enter the 20km no-go zone at the end of July. They join Veterinary Association for Fukushima Animals (VAFA), a government organization sanctioned to retrieve animals stranded in vacant areas. JEARS and Kinship Circle are in communication with VAFA. On this trip, volunteers are only allowed to recover animals whose guardians have issued specific requests. We are not at liberty to publish more details about rescue in the 20km nuclear zone. Meanwhile, animals struggle in regions 30, 40 and 50km from the nuclear reactor. Exclusion blockades change as winds alter the trajectory of invisible radiation and cause sudden spikes. Dogs roam. Cats wait along empty roads. With shelters full, we do food and water drops. Police see animals daily. It softens them. At one roadblock, they hand over two kittens.

SURVIVORSAnimal Friends Niigata has some 400 animals. Director Isabella Gallaon-Aoki adopts out the homeless. Fellow JEARS leader Susan Mercer houses about 140 rescues at her shelter, HEART Tokushima. Susan Roberts and Selena Hoy (with JEARS and Japan Cat Network) bring animals to Club Lohas Hotel-Shelter in Inawashiro, Fukushima, and then to adopt/foster homes. Some cats go to JCN, but with volunteers still in the field, the shelter is understaffed. Space is scarce, but no animals are forgotten.

Mickey, a dog rescue under our care, (c) Kinship Circle

MickeyRescuers, along with 60 or more animals at times, occupy rented rooms at Club Lohas Hotel in Inawashiro, Fukushima.

Survivors

Some 400 animals live at Animal Friends Niigata, where Director Isabella Gallaon-Aoki adopts out the homeless. Fellow JEARS leader Susan Mercer has roughly 140 rescues at HEART Tokushima. Susan Roberts and Selena Hoy (JEARS and Japan Cat Network) bring animals to Club Lohas in Inawashiro, Fukushima, prior to adopt/foster homes. Some cats go to JCN, but with volunteers still in the field, the shelter is understaffed. Space is scarce, but no animals are forgotten.

Some 400 animals live at Animal Friends Niigata, where Director Isabella Gallaon-Aoki adopts out the homeless. Fellow JEARS lead Susan Mercer has about 140 rescues at HEART Tokushima. Susan Roberts and Selena Hoy (JEARS) bring animals to Club Lohas in Fukushima prior to adopt/foster homes. No animals are forgotten.

Maxwell, a cat rescue under our care, (c) Kinship Circle

MaxwellTagged Fukushima House, the hotel is run by an animal lover. Mickey, Maxwell and others get care and love.

Yuki was rescued in Kawamata, (c) Kinship Circle

YukiRescued in Kawamata, Yuki is among many cats who roam deserted Fukushima towns that surround a nuclear reactor destroyed in the earthquake.

A dog's paw is torn off by a boar, (c) Kinship Circle

Girl-Named-BillBefore rescue, a wild boar bit off Girl-Named-Bill's back paw. Predatory animals are yet another danger for companions left behind.

Archibald recovers under our care, (c) Kinship Circle

ArchibaldFound at road's edge, Archibald was too weak to lead rescuers in a feline chase. The cat recovers at Fukushima House, with volunteers.

Nova was so hungry we found her, Kinship Circle — NovaCats survive solo longer than dogs. But illness and hunger drive them out of hiding.

We rescue a dog tethered amid debris, Kinship Circle — AkitaThe dog is tethered in a junky yard. Now safe at the shelter, we search for guardians.

A sick white kitten is saved in Kawamata, Kinship Circle — KittyA sick white kitten is saved in Kawamata, 32km from the nuclear reactor.

Choco was rescued in Namie and sheltered with volunteers at Club Lohas in Fukushima, (c) Kinship Circle

Kittens saved from a Hokenjo in Sendai. Many animal disaster survivors wound up in Japan's high-kill, short-hold pounds (c) Kinship Circle

A kitten rescued from a Hokenjo in Sendai. Many animal disaster survivors wound up in Japan's high-kill, short-hold pounds (c) Kinship Circle

Koo, a rescued cat sheltered in Fukushima, Kinship Circle

Julia, a rescued cat sheltered in Fukushima

Joey, a rescued cat sheltered in Fukushima

There Is Life

Every Animal Wants To Live. Each Craves Comfort, Love. July 2011: The team finally knows more about animals inside the 20km radiation exclusion zone. Rescuers cannot enter legally. A few try to slip in, but none so far. Others search the rim, to coax animals out. Animals have been stranded for months. We learn about a farm with one live pig amid 1000 dead pigs. A veterinarian describes another farm with 80 dead cows. Farmed animals are caged, stalled and roped, with the least chance for survival.

Still, there is life. A video shows nine dogs inside the 20km zone. We won't give up on these animals. Citizen requests have flooded Fukushima Precture offices. Evacuated residents want their companions back. We are told this is an unprecedented number of complaints, and may give rise to overdue government permission for a large rescue convoy. We are ready to go at moment's notice.

Emaciated. Worn Down. Desperate. Cats roam the 20-30km area around Fukushima's nuclear reactor. Dogs wait on porches for people who won't return. Food drops are scarce. Locals don't get here much anymore. On a routine trip to feed hundreds of cast off chickens in Namie, we see many cats at road's edge. We trap 6 without the usual feline chase. Weak dogs come easily too. It's like they know there is nowhere else to go.

Kittens in these images, along with many more animals, are saved from certain death at a Hokenjo in Sendai. Japan's high-kill, no-hold pounds are part of its strict animal control system. Sadly, an untold number of animal disaster survivors wind up on death row inside these facilities. On the ground, Kinship Circle and JEARS visit Hokenjos to look for missing animals and save as many others as possible.