Emergencies that may affect animals or animal holding facilities include natural disasters, infrastructure emergencies, and civil emergencies. Persons responsible for animal care should consider critical mechanical systems and personnel functions that may be impacted during emergencies. Contingency plans for animal care should be communicated to the appropriate personnel.
Key issues to consider:
- Ability of staff to get to the facility
- Whether or not buildings are safe for staff to enter
- Power availability/length of outage
- Food and water availability
- Length of time that animals can be maintained
- Whether or not animals may need to be relocated
Of particular concern during emergencies is communication among staff, emergency responders, and the public. Juniata Public Safety and emergency responders must be able to reach people responsible for animal care. That can be enhanced by prominently posting emergency procedures, names, and telephone numbers in animal facilities and by making them available to Public Safety. Any media inquiries should be directed to the Vice President of Advancement and Marketing, the official College spokesperson.
Responsibilities of Principal Investigators in relation to emergency preparedness involving animals include:
- Designating persons responsible for animal care, including backups
- Posting names and phone numbers of persons responsible for animals in animal holding facilities
- Training appropriate personnel on procedures for dealing with emergencies