30% of Fukushima evacuees want their pets back
News On Japan via NHKReloaded -- Sep 09
More than 30 percent of evacuees from around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant say they want to retrieve their pets that they were forced to leave behind.
The Environment Ministry asked about 1,000 former pet owners from the no-entry zone whether they intend to bring their animals home.
Three-hundred-thirty people said they would like to take back their pets. Others replied that they cannot afford to keep pets while living in shelters.
After the disaster last year, ministry and prefectural workers picked up about 750 dogs and cats abandoned in the no-go zone and transported them to safety. They have been kept at pet facilities and remain unclaimed.
The ministry now hopes to begin returning the pets to their owners.
But many pets still remain in the no-go zone.
Source: NHKReloaded
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