EMERGENCY RISK REDUCTION

DISASTERS AND LARGE ANIMALS

Ten billion animals are raised for food each year. Disaster preparedness is especially important for livestock such as horses, cattle, sheep, goats or pigs because of the size of the animals, and their shelter and transportation needs. Disasters can happen anywhere and take many different forms — from hurricanes to barn fires, floods to hazardous materials spills — forcing possible evacuation. Whether you evacuate or shelter in place, it’s important to be prepared to protect your livestock. Some element of preparedness are:

• Ensure all animals have some form of identification.
• Evacuate animals whenever possible. Map out primary and secondary routes in advance.
• Make available vehicles and trailers needed for transporting and supporting each type of animal. Also make available experienced handlers and drivers. Note: It is best to allow animals a chance to become accustomed to vehicular travel so they are less frightened and easier to move.
• Ensure destinations have food, water, veterinary care and handling equipment.
• If evacuation is not possible, animal owners must decide whether to move large animals to shelter or turn them outside.

 Preparedness Measures for Livestock Owners

Have a Disaster Plan

To protect your family and livestock, make sure you regularly review and update your disaster plan, supplies, and information regularly. Your farm disaster plan should include both household members and animals.  The following are some suggestions to help keep your livestock safe during an emergency.

• Make a disaster plan to protect your property, your facilities, and your animals. Create a list of emergency telephone numbers, including those of your employees, neighbors, veterinarian, state veterinarian, poison control, local animal shelter, animal care and control, county extension service, local agricultural schools, trailering resources, and local volunteers.
• Include a contact person outside the disaster area. Make sure all this information is written down and that everyone has a copy.
• Make sure every animal has durable and visible identification.
• Ensure that poultry have access to high areas in which to perch, if they are in a flood-prone area, as well as to food and clean water.
• Reinforce your house, barn, and outbuildings with hurricane straps and other measures. Perform regular safety checks on all utilities, buildings, and facilities on your farm.
• Use only native and deep-rooted plants and trees in landscaping (non-native plants are less durable and hardy in your climate and may become dislodged by high winds or broken by ice and snow).
• Remove all barbed wire, and consider rerouting permanent fencing so that animals may move to high ground in a flood and to low-lying areas during high winds.
• Install a hand pump and obtain enough large containers to water your animals for at least a week (municipal water supplies and wells are often contaminated during a disaster).
• Identify alternate water and power sources. A generator with a safely stored supply of fuel may be essential, especially if you have electrical equipment necessary to the well being of your animals.
• Secure or remove anything that could become blowing debris; make a habit of securing trailers, propane tanks, and other large objects. If you have boats, feed troughs, or other large containers, fill them with water before any high wind event. This prevents them from blowing around and also gives you an additional supply of water.
• If you use heat lamps or other electrical machinery, make sure the wiring is safe and that any heat source is clear of flammable debris.
• Label hazardous materials and place them all in the same safe area. Provide local fire and rescue and emergency management authorities with information about the location of any hazardous materials on your property.
• Remove old buried trash—a potential source of hazardous materials during flooding that may leech into crops, feed supplies, water sources, and pasture.
• Review and update your disaster plan, supplies, and information regularly.

 Have an Evacuation Plan  

 When evacuation advice is issued, it is important that you make the decision early as to what you intend to do. You must determine whether you are leaving your large animals (horses and livestock) behind or going to evacuate them, and if you are going to evacuate. Everyone situation will differs according to your options for evacuation.  The key to survival is to enact your evacuation plan early. The follow steps should be taken:

• Enact your Evacuation Plan.
• Determine which evacuation routes are suitable, depending upon the type of emergency.
• Determine which of your pre-planned evacuation locations are most suitable for this emergency. Call ahead to your pre-arranged evacuation site (this may be a friend, family member, or an animal shelter) to let them know you are coming.
• If you do not have a pre-arranged evacuation site for your animals, contact your local, state, or provincial animal authority  and request further information. Check emergency announcements for locations that are catering for animals. Some evacuation centers will have facilities for animals; others will not.
• Ensure you evacuation kit is complete. Your kit should include 2-3 days feed, water, halters, leads and rugs where appropriate and a first aid kit.  Remember to include any special dietary information and medication your animals require in case someone else has to care for them.
• Prepare and attach identification information to each of your animals so you can be contacted should you be separated.
• Prepare to load your animals for transport. Remember only suitably trained animals should be evacuated. Other animals should be left on your property in your designated safe area.
• Load your animal evacuation kit into your vehicle along with any additional supplies you feel you might need.
• Don’t forget your smaller animals or pets, ensure you have your emergency kit for them and they are identified and can be contained safely (lead, carry cage etc).
• Evacuate early as late evacuation can be a deadly option.

 Sheltering in Place

If evacuation is not possible, a decision must be made whether to confine large animals to an available shelter on your farm or leave them out in pastures. Owners may believe that their animals are safer inside barns, but in many circumstances, confinement takes away the animals’ ability to protect themselves. This decision should be based on the type of disaster and the soundness and location of the sheltering building.

Survey your property for the best location for animal sheltering. If your pasture area meets the following criteria, your large animals may be better off out in the pasture than being evacuated:

• No exotic (non-native) trees, which uproot easily
• No overhead power lines or poles
• No debris or sources of blowing debris
• No barbed wire fencing (woven wire fencing is best)
• Not less than one acre in size (if less than an acre, your livestock may not be able to avoid blowing debris).

If your pasture area does not meet these criteria, you should evacuate. Whether you evacuate or shelter in place, make sure that you have adequate and safe fencing or pens to separate and group animals appropriately.

Work with your provincial or state agriculture department or extension service. If your animals cannot be evacuated, these agencies may be able to provide on-farm oversight. Contact them well in advance to learn their capabilities and the most effective communication procedure.

 Farm Disaster Kit

Make a disaster kit so you have supplies on hand in the event of a disaster. Place the kit in a central location and let everyone know where it is. Check the contents regularly to ensure fresh and complete supplies. Here are suggested items to include then add items that you use every day.

• Current list of all animals, including their location and records of feeding, vaccinations, and tests. Make this information available at various locations on the farm. Make sure that you have proof of ownership for all animals.
• Supplies for temporary identification of your animals, such as plastic neckbands and permanent markers to label your animals with your name, address, and telephone number.
• Basic first aid kit.
• Handling equipment such as halters, cages, and appropriate tools for each kind of animal.
• Water, feed, and buckets. Tools and supplies needed for sanitation.
• Disaster equipment such as a cell phone, flashlights, portable radios, and batteries.
• Other safety and emergency items for your vehicles and trailers.
• Food, water, and disaster supplies for your family. 

 Cold Weather Preparation

 Cold weather is an annual occurrence in the vast majority of Canada and  much of the USA. When temperatures plunge, owners of large animals and livestock producers need to give extra attention to their animals. Prevention is the key to dealing with hypothermia, frostbite and other cold weather injuries in livestock.

Making sure your livestock has the following to help prevent cold-weather problems:

• Shelter
• Plenty of dry bedding to insulate vulnerable udders, genitals and legs from the frozen ground and frigid winds
• Windbreaks to keep animals safe from frigid conditions
• Plenty of food and water

 Take extra time to observe livestock, looking for early signs of disease and injury. Severe cold-weather injuries or death primarily occur in the very young or in animals that are already debilitated. Cases of weather-related sudden death in calves often result when cattle are suffering from undetected infection, particularly pneumonia. Sudden, unexplained livestock deaths and illnesses should be investigated quickly so that a cause can be identified and steps can be taken to protect the remaining animals.

Animals suffering from frostbite don’t exhibit pain. It may be up to two weeks before the injury becomes evident as the damaged tissue starts to slough away. At that point, the injury should be treated as an open wound and a veterinarian should be consulted.

Barn Fires

Despite high profile disasters such as flooding or wildfires, the most common disaster impacting livestock is structural fires on the farm or ranch. Preventing barn fires and being prepared in the event of a fire can mean the difference between life and death for your livestock. Knowledge of the danger of fires and how to deal with them is essential, and vigilance is key to prevention.

Barn fire prevention:

• Prohibit smoking in or around the barn. A discarded cigarette can ignite dry bedding or hay in seconds.
• Avoid parking tractors and vehicles in or near the barn. Engine heat and backfires can spark a flame.
• Store other machinery and flammable materials outside the barn.
• Inspect electrical systems regularly and immediately correct any problems. Rodents can chew on electrical wiring and cause damage that quickly becomes a fire hazard.
• Keep appliances to a minimum in the barn. Use stall fans, space heaters, and radios only when someone is in the barn.
• Be sure hay is dry before storing it. Hay that is too moist may spontaneously combust. Store hay outside the barn in a dry, covered area when possible.

Preparing for a barn fire:

• Keep aisles, stall doors, and barn doors free of debris and equipment.
• Mount fire extinguishers around the stable, especially at all entrances.
• Have a planned evacuation route for every stall in the barn.
• Familiarize employees with your evacuation plans.
• Post emergency telephone numbers at each telephone and at each entrance. Emergency telephone numbers should include those of the barn manager, veterinarian, emergency response, and, if you have horses, qualified handlers.
• Also keep your barn’s street address clearly posted to relay to the 911 operator or your community’s emergency services.
• Be sure your address and the entrance to your property are clearly visible from the main road.
• Consider installing smoke alarms and heat detectors throughout the barn. New heat sensors can detect rapidly changing temperatures in your barn. The heat sensors should be hooked up to sirens that will quickly alert you and your neighbors to a possible barn fire.
• Host an open house for emergency services personnel in your area to familiarize them with the layout of your property. If you have horses, provide them with tips on horse handling or present a mini-seminar with hands-on training for horse handling.
• Familiarize your animals with emergency procedures and common activities they would encounter during a disaster. Try to desensitize them to flashlights and flashing lights.

If a barn fire occurs:

• Immediately call 911 or your local emergency services.
• Do not enter the barn if it is already engulfed in flames.
• If it is safe for you to enter the barn, evacuate animals one at a time starting with the most accessible ones.
• Never let animals loose in an area where they are able to return to the barn.

Special consideration for horses:

• Put a halter and lead rope on each horse when you open the stall door. Be aware that horses tend to run back into burning barns out of fear and confusion.
• Blindfold horses only if absolutely necessary. Many horses will balk at a blindfold, making evacuation more difficult and time consuming.
• Move them to paddocks close enough to reach quickly but far enough from the barn that they won’t be affected by the fire and smoke.
• Be sure to have all your horses checked by a veterinarian after the fire. Smoke inhalation can cause serious lung damage and respiratory complications. Horses are prone to stress and may experience colic after a fire.

References:

www.humanesociety.org

www.ready.gov

www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture