Wellington, Feb 25 NZPA - Members of an animal search and rescue team from Massey University are heading to Christchurch to help with animal control.

There was no major animal emergency at the moment after Tuesday's destructive earthquake, but five people from the Palmerston North campus would help assess the needs of animals in the city, team leader Hayley Squance said.

Christchurch Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the city council's animal control services today requested assistance to deal with domestic pets in the city, she said.

She thought they would be required to door to door checking for animals needing help.

The team of veterinarians, veterinary technologists and vet nurses would head to Wellington tomorrow for a briefing, then travel on to Christchurch where they would work out of a local clinic, Ms Squance said.

The university has had the specialist 12-member team on standby for the past four days to provide emergency in-field veterinary treatment and disaster assessment in Christchurch if needed.

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