First Responders Learn to Help Large Animals in Emergencies

A horse trapped in a canyon, a bull that has escaped from its pasture, a wild animal injured by a car—incidents like these endanger animals and people. But when emergency personnel are trained to help, animals, the public and the emergency crews themselves are safer.

County Animal Services hosted a two-day pilot course this week to help first responders handle large animal emergencies. Thursday marked the end of the course, which was held at the County Animal Shelter in Carlsbad on Palomar Airport Road.

“This training is crucial to the safety of first responders and the public,” said Dawn Danielson, Director of Animal Services. “And it also helps ensure that the animals can be safely extricated in times of trouble.”

The course, presented by the UC Davis-based International Animal Welfare Training Institute in conjunction with the California Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, had more than 40 students, including animal control officers, a Sheriff’s Deputy and CalFire firefighters.

“Faculty and staff developed these protocols based on veterinary rescue expertise and protocols developed for clinical settings," said John Madigan, director of the institute."The Department of Homeland Security funded the pilot projects with an eye toward future levels of training.”

“First Responder Guidelines to Equine Emergencies” instructed first responders on how to handle injured, trapped and loose horses. It also covered communication protocols, equine behavior, restraint and lifts, according to a County news release.

Participants received one-on-one instruction to learn procedures such as haltering a horse to guide it from danger and using “skids” or other equipment to help move an animal.

A session called “Loose Livestock, Injured Wildlife and Emergency Animal Euthanasia” focused on the safest ways to deal with loose or downed livestock and trapped or injured wildlife. First responders learned how to approach, capture and immobilize animals, protect personal safety, and perform humane euthanasia.

At one demonstration station, participants learned about equipment used to tranquilize an animal.