Development Guide: Contingency Plans for Emergencies Animal Care Tech Note
As a dealer, exhibitor, research facility, intermediate handler, animal transporter, or other entity regulated under the Animal Welfare Act, you are required to make a contingency plan. This plan describes what you will do to safeguard your animals during emergencies or disasters. Use this tech note to help guide the development of your contingency plan. Contingency Plan Basics There is no one-size-fits-all contingency plan. You’ll need to create a plan that addresses your facility’s unique needs in different emergencies. Your contingency plan should cover all animals in your main facility and all holding facilities, including alternate locations you may use during an evacuation. Any licensee or registrant who transports animals or works as an intermediate handler must also develop a contingency plan for emergencies that can occur during the transport process or while temporarily holding animals. Your employees should be aware of your facility’s contingency plan and trained to carry out their designated roles and responsibilities. You must review your plan and document any updates at least annually. If you experience personnel changes or other changes, you should review your plan more often to keep it up to date. What To Consider When Planning for Contingencies Your contingency plan must address four things: when you will activate your plan, what actions you will take, who is responsible for taking those actions, and how you will accomplish them. Use the information below to guide your contingency planning. When Will You Activate Your Plan? Emergencies are not limited to natural disasters. They can also include local events such as a fire, power outage, illness or death of key personnel, or other unexpected situation that interrupts normal animal care activities.
Carefully consider and document the types of emergencies that could affect your area or your facility. Some possible emergencies include: Wildfires, earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, or avalanches Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, blizzards, ice storms, or extreme heat and humidity Power outages; faulty wiring, heating, ventilation, or air conditioning systems in buildings or transport vehicles; or building fires Water or feed supply disruptions Road closures that impact access to your facility or limit animal transport, or hazardous materials situations Human or animal disease outbreak Intentional attacks on your facility, animals, or personnel Animal escape What Actions Will You Take? Your contingency plan must document the actions you’ll take in response to the emergency situations that could affect your operation. For example, in some situations, you may need to evacuate your animals and employees. In other circumstances, you may decide that sheltering in place is the safest option. Use the information on the next page to consider what you might do in each situation.
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