BUNDABERG pet owners, including those who were affected by floods or helped in rescues, are being called on to contribute to a study being conducted by the University of Western Sydney.

The goal of the Pets and People, Preparedness for Disasters (P3D)study, which is being conducted through the University of Western Sydney, is to better understand the level of pet owners' preparedness for disasters and emergencies and to collect information from those who have experienced disasters with their pets.

The project, being conducted by University of Western Sydney researchers Dr Mel Taylor, Dr Penny Burns and Erin Lynch, will attempt to gather information about pets in times of crisis to present to governments to bring about better animal management in times of disaster.

The research team has been liaising with a number of animal-related welfare organisations and is linked into and supported by a national steering committee that is addressing the broad issues of animals in disasters.

The information collected through the study will be fed back to these groups and will be used to support revised planning for disasters by government and non-government organisations.

The group researchers hope the project will help build a case to support animals and pets owners in disaster situations by highlighting the importance of the human-animal bond, the welfare of animals, and the wellbeing of pet owners.

As part of the research, the group has released an online survey that can be completed by all pet owners.

Pet owners can also check out the research project's Facebook page - Pets and people, preparedness for disasters where they can share their stories.