Every year in the United States, ranchers and farmers lose millions of dollars with the loss of the lives of thousands of head of livestock, most of which are killed by collapsed barns, kidney failure due to dehydration, electrocution from downed power lines, and fencing failures during and following disasters. A disaster is considered to be an incident that is beyond the ability of individual, local and community resources to deal with as an emergency. A rule of thumb: “You respond to an emergency – you recover from a disaster.” While not all losses can be prevented, livestock losses to disaster can, in most cases, be mitigated to some degree. There are steps that farmers and ranchers can take before, during, and after a disaster that can help them save some, if not all of their livestock.
Purpose
The purpose of this module is to provide livestock producers with knowledge of State, Federal and local agencies that may aid in disaster preparedness and disaster relief, to provide some specific steps to prepare for specific disasters, and to provide some specific actions that may be taken during the emergency.
This module will focus on the different types of disaster and how to prepare for them. It will provide a brief description and contact information for agencies that aid in preparing for disaster. It will describe the different types of disaster, along with the causes and socio-economic and environmental effects the disaster is likely to produce. It will provide some significant historical examples and perhaps most importantly, it will detail specific actions that livestock producers can take prior to a disaster. While there will be some mention of specific actions to be taken during and following a disaster, it is beyond the scope of this module to provide detailed instructions on disaster recovery.
General considerations
During a disaster, adrenalin flow creates panic and confusion in both humans and animals. Humans at least have the reasoning ability to understand (in most cases) what is happening and why. Animals, not having this ability, must rely on their humans to get them through a disaster. The survival instincts of livestock will make them, at best, difficult and possibly even dangerous to handle in a disaster.
Healthy goats on a nutritionally balanced diet are far more likely to survive a disaster. Goats in a stressful situation tend to overeat and suffer from such varied disorders as enterotoxaemia, bloat, founder, scours, and coccidiosis. As a minimum, goats should be vaccinated regularly against Clostridium Perfigens, types C&D and tetanus. In areas subject to a lot of rainfall, particularly southern states in hurricane season, a multivalent pneumonia vaccine is also advisable.
Discuss your disaster plan with your neighbors, and familiarize local emergency personnel with it. Together, you may come up with a collective solution that may make it easier for all concerned. Evaluate your own abilities to handle your livestock during an emergency. Pay particular attention to manpower and equipment you might need. Contact friends, relatives, or other livestock producers that may live far enough away from the probable disaster and make arrangements with them to provide temporary care for you and your stock. Identify facilities such as fairgrounds, sale barns, show arenas and any other facilities that may house animals in an emergency.
Prepare an emergency loading plan in case you have to evacuate your animals. Prepare a loading area, where animals may be easily and quickly confined. Keep your truck or trailer stored there. Practice loading your animals onto trucks or trailers, so that they and you become familiar with the effort and will be less likely to panic. Always, always, always have a “Plan B.”
Records
Well-kept and accurate records can make recovery from a disaster less chaotic. Keep copies of all registration papers, herd inventories, etc, handy in case of an emergency or disaster. Keep animal health records up to date. Make sure that external identification marking such as ear tags are somewhat permanent, easily read from several feet away, and designed so they do not pull out easily by braches, fence or other animals. Keep copies of plans such as floor plans, wiring, water supply systems, and lightning control systems where you can find them.
Agencies for disaster assistance
There are many agencies, Federal, State and local that offer disaster preparedness assistance. A list of these agencies is found at the end of this module.
Types of disaster
Learn the types of disaster which are likely to befall your area, and what kinds of conditions cause them. Monitor television and radio broadcasts that may provide information about developing conditions. Each disaster requires a different approach to prepare for it, but the primary focus of a livestock producer during a disaster is to provide immediate safety for his or her animals, and this is made much easier if he or she has taken some basic preparatory action.
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