Training exercises prepare first responders for livestock transport accidents

LEXINGTON, VA — Traffic accidents are already stressful, but when livestock are involved, they can quickly become chaotic and dangerous situations.

With hundreds of thousands of farm animals transported on U.S. roadways every day, crashes involving livestock trailers are inevitable. Not only do these incidents pose a host of unique challenges, but many responding personnel may have limited experience handling farm animals.

That’s why Virginia Farm Bureau Federation hosted a series of Bovine Emergency Response Plan training events for law enforcement, veterinarians, firefighters, EMS personnel and animal control officers. Partnering with the Virginia Cattle Industry Board and Beef Checkoff, VFBF held three one-day events across Virginia in October.

Image credit - VA Farm Bureau

“Our goal is to give first responders the knowledge and resources they need for these situations,” said Matt Nuckols, Virginia Farm Bureau Farm Safety Advisory Committee chair. “Having the training and a plan in place ahead of time helps protect both the people and animals involved.”

During the trainings, a team of animal science experts, livestock veterinarians and Virginia Cooperative Extension specialists led participants through a comprehensive, standardized framework for managing animal incidents. A range of topics were covered, including livestock transportation hazards, securing scenes, animal handling and welfare, and biosecurity concerns.

“We take everyone through how to build a team that will allow them to handle the different aspects of a wreck—the response, the livestock, animal containment, extraction and unfortunately, when necessary, euthanasia, and then debriefing,” explained Jerry Yates of West Virginia University’s Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Instructors emphasized having a list of personnel who can assist during an accident prepared ahead of time, and include law enforcement officers, livestock veterinarians, livestock transporters, local Extension agents and local livestock producers.

Participants also learned how to approach stressed and scared animals, and to ensure proper containment before releasing livestock from trailers. A hands-on practicum involved observing cattle behavior and touring the interior of a double-decker livestock trailer to understand how animals are transported.

This kind of “specialized training allows first responders to more adeptly respond to livestock transportation accidents and ensure public and human safety while minimizing additional livestock injury,” explained Lisa Pederson, North Dakota State Extension livestock and beef quality specialist.

“The training is designed for all sorts of scenarios,” she said—whether it’s a single cow or horse loose on the road, or a major accident involving hundreds of animals.

“It’s a great program,” said Nelson County Sheriff Mark Embrey, who participated in the Lexington training. “It’s absolutely critical that we have this knowledge and education so we’re able to work these accidents.”

Ashley Nelson, a veterinarian who also attended the Lexington training, said it was helpful to learn how to “integrate law enforcement with veterinarians and other professionals.

“These aren’t groups who are often brought together,” she said. “Integrating these different professions will be helpful in making these awful situations run as smoothly as possible.”

Representatives from Virginia Farm Bureau, Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association and the Virginia State Veterinarian’s Office participated in all three BERP trainings to prepare for leading future trainings across different areas of Virginia.