Fukushima pets abandoned after nuclear crisis rescued

Fukushima pets rescued | Photo: Issei Kato/ Reuters

Fukushima pets abandoned by their owners after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 have been rescued.

The government allowed animal welfare groups to temporarily enter the exclusion zone in December to rescue the Fukushima pets who have had to survive high radiation, severe lack of food and now the region's harsh winter weather.

"If left alone, tens of them will die everyday. Unlike well-fed animals that can keep themselves warm with their own body fat, starving ones will just shrivel up and die," Yasunori Hoso of the United Kennel Club (UKC) told the Reuters.

Members of the UKC have rescued over 250 dogs and more than 100 cats. The pets are kept in a shelter until they can be reunited with their owners.

However, UKC volunteers say the pets are becoming wary of people and after initially running up to the pet trackers they are now running away.

According to a BBC report, some residents are still returning to their radiation tainted homes regularly in the hope their pets have returned.

A man told the BBC that he goes home every month to leave food for his pet cat.

"I just want my cat to be alive," he said.

A large area around the Fukushima nuclear plant still needs to be decontaminated.