More than 50 per cent of pet owners are willing to put their life on the line for their four-legged friends, a new study has found.
The New Zealand-based poll found that 58 per cent of people would return to a danger zone rather than allow their pets to perish.
Steve Glassey, a distance education student at Charles Sturt University in NSW, said 99 per cent of people deem their pet a family member.
"They've got quite a strong bond so that means in a disaster they're quite less likely to abandon them if they're told to do so," said Mr Glassey, a former officer for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Reluctance to evacuate
Mr Glassey conducted the online poll after discovering a lack of provisions for pets in emergency shelters was one of the reasons people were reluctant to evacuate their homes when Hurricane Katrina tore through the US in 2005.
"A lot of people failed to evacuate because they couldn't take their pets," he told AAP.
Mr Glassey found about 80 per cent of the 92 people he polled in Wellington would be more likely to leave their homes if evacuation centres catered for furry friends.
"It comes down to core value," he said.
"(People are) seeing pets as more than just sentimental property, so they want to make sure that all their family is evacuated, not just select members."
Mr Glassey said his definition of pets included all "companion animals", but not livestock.
The results were presented at the Annual Emergency Service Conference in the capital last week.
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