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Victorian Emergency Animal Welfare Plan:

5.0 Emergencies Impacting Animal Welfare

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Part 7 of the EMMV lists a number of specific animal welfare emergencies, for example emergency animal disease events and cetacean emergencies. In these cases, the EMMV assigns responsibility for managing an emergency, and hence animal welfare, to specific agencies. In other emergencies listed under the EMMV, such as bushfire, floods and marine pollution events, impacts on animal welfare may be incidental to the broader emergency. If animals are impacted during these emergencies, the EMMV details that:

• DPI is the primary agency for livestock and companion animal welfare support services.
• DSE is the primary agency for wildlife welfare support services.

As primary agencies with animal welfare support responsibilities, DPI and DSE have a role in establishing links with other agencies and organisations with emergency responsibilities as well as those organisations involved in the management of animal welfare to ensure resources and capability are directed in the most efficient manner towards relief activities. This coordinated effort might include others such as Parks Victoria (PV), local government, RSPCA, local veterinarians (including the AVA), the VFF, wildlife rescue and rehabilitation groups and other volunteer groups involved with assisting relief and recovery of animals after emergencies.
Table 1 describes the emergencies listed under the EMMV that are likely to have animal welfare implications, the relevant control agency and primary state government animal welfare support agency as well as associated plans and procedures that describe specific operational arrangements. The table does not list the numerous other support agencies or organisations that will have a role in the delivery of specific animal welfare services.
If an emergency that involves animal welfare occurs, and specific plans and procedures are not defined, this Plan (or other relevant plans) may be used to guide an appropriate response.
Appendix 2 provides a generic example of the organisational structure that could be developed in the case of a large scale emergency response that impacts on livestock, companion animals and/or wildlife where both DPI and DSE are support agencies.

Table 1: Specific operational plans for emergencies that impact on animal welfare

Emergency	Control Agency	Primary Agency for Animal Welfare Support	Relevant Animal Welfare Plans and Procedures
Storm (including hail), flood, tsunami, earthquake	SES	DPI – Companion Animals and Livestock DSE - Wildlife	Victorian Emergency Animal Welfare Plan
Fire	CFA / DSE / MFB (depending on location)	DPI – Companion Animals and Livestock DSE – Wildlife	Bushfire on public land: Working with fire agencies at Bushfires: Protocols for Volunteers Involved in Wildlife Rescue Operations, DSE/CFA, October 2010 Bushfire Wildlife Rescue Initiative Role Statements and Reporting Relationships Victorian Emergency Animal Welfare Plan
Cetacean (whale and dolphin) entanglements or strandings	DSE	DPI	Victorian Cetacean Contingency Plan Victorian Cetacean Emergency Plan (draft) Readiness and Response Plan for Large Whale Entanglement in Victoria, DSE, (Jan 2008) (draft)
Marine pollution emergencies	Department of Transport	DSE	Wildlife Response Plan for Marine Pollution Emergencies (DSE, 2007)
Emergency animal disease	DPI	DPI – Companion Animals and Livestock DSE - Wildlife	AUSVETPLAN Operational Procedures Manual: Livestock welfare and management Victorian Emergency Animal Welfare Plan
Transport incidents (involving livestock)		DPI	Livestock Transport Incident Response Policy DPI Standard Operating Procedure: Transport Accidents Involving Livestock in Transit Victorian Emergency Animal Welfare Plan
Hazardous spills or leaks (gas leaks, chemical, oil, radioactive or biological)	Gas, Chemical, Oil (CFA,MFB) Biological and radioactive (Dept of Health)	DPI – Companion Animals and Livestock DSE - Wildlife	Victorian Emergency Animal Welfare Plan
Drought		DPI – Companion Animals and Livestock DSE - Wildlife	Victorian Emergency Animal Welfare Plan

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