ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the basic understanding a disaster responder should have of the principles and mechanisms of disaster management and how the animal issues are both perceived and currently managed. By the 1970s, the need for coordination of disaster response was recognised and this led to the creation of the United Nations Disaster Relief office (UNDRO). The chapter discusses some of the most severe disasters on human record concurrently with shifts in media coverage of disasters with great intensity. Disaster mitigation measures are those that eliminate or reduce the impacts and risks of hazards through proactive measures taken before an emergency or disaster occurs. The United Nations plays a key role in the coordination and management of disasters under which most global response to these events occurs. Emergency management of animals in disasters is the systematic approach and management of the uncertainty in animal welfare and production, due to large negative events that may overwhelm the resources of their owners.
