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Suffolk County SPCA County Animal Response Team (CART)
PURPOSE SCOPE SITUATION AND ASSUMPTIONS CONCEPT OF
OPERATIONS
General Phases of Emergency Management
Direction and Control
General Response Requirements
Functions
ORGANIZATION AND ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES
Primary Agencies Designated Team Leaders
Responsibilities of All Support Agencies
Responsibilities of Specific Support Agencies
Plan Development and Maintenance
COUNTY
ANIMAL
RESPONSE TEAM (CART) PHASES OF OPERATIONS
Preparedness Phase
Response Phase
Domestic Animals
Livestock
Recovery Phase
AUTHORITY AND REFERENCES DEFINITIONS OF ACRONYMS AND TERMS
FORMS
PURPOSE
The purpose of this plan is to provide for the coordination
of local resources in response to pet, farm, and exotic
animal care needs before, during, and following a
significant natural disaster or man-made event.
SCOPE
The scope of this plan is the overall management,
coordination, and prioritization of resources that support
pet, farm, and exotic animal needs in the event of a
declared emergency or disaster.
SITUATION AND ASSUMPTIONS
Situation:
There are over 52 million dogs and over 63 million
domestic cats in the USA. These animals rival the
population of humans in this country. If a significant
natural or man-made disaster occurs, it could quickly
overwhelm local government resources and their ability to
provide necessary services. Such a disaster necessitates a
plan to mitigate the situation utilizing local assistance. A
disaster of this magnitude would pose certain public health
and nuisance threats such as injured and displaced animals,
dead animals, rabies and other animal-related diseases, care
and shelter of animals, and related issues. Additionally,
these problems could tax human needs and response resources.
Generally when a disaster is imminent in the
County of Suffolk, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is
activated and representatives from selected agencies gather
for decision making. The Suffolk County SPCA will be the
conduit for information and assistance for animal-related
needs as delineated in this document.
In a deemed disaster, the
assistance provided to address Disaster Animal Issues is a
coordinated effort of Suffolk County FRES, and the Suffolk
County SPCA. Emergency support services to implement this
plan also include the volunteer sector.
Assumptions:
All appropriate state, county, and local agencies
and departments will be involved in emergency operations,
consistent with their functions and responsibilities for
disaster animal issues.
State government, private
sector, and volunteer agencies that are assigned
responsibilities for disaster animal issues will have
established operating procedures specifying their emergency
support service actions and will be prepared to communicate
and coordinate these actions in an emergency to best utilize
available capabilities.
CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS
General
Given beliefs that animals can fend for themselves, animal issues may be
overlooked in the disaster planning process. This lack of
planning leads to serious problems when abandonment, injury,
and hunger force animals from their habitats. By developing
procedures to care for these animals, prior to such an
event, this plan may reduce the risk to health and safety as
well as the drain on state resources.
Phases of Emergency Management
The
Suffolk County Emergency Operations Plan depicts the
potential hazards to which Suffolk County could be exposed.
The four phases of emergency management provide the
framework for delivery of emergency support services. They
are: Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.
Direction and Control
GENERAL
This plan shall be placed into effect when it is
determined that there is a potential for a disaster with
animal issues in Suffolk County. The decision to implement
the Plan shall be coordinated with the Commissioner of FRES
for full effectiveness.
RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS
1.
·
The designated primary and support agencies must plan to
be as self-sufficient as possible during the first 72 hours
following an event, when there may be only limited
assistance.
2.
·
With priorities identified by the County Animal Response
Team (CART), the SPCA Emergency Manager will allocate animal
assistance resources using authorities and capabilities of
primary and support agencies.
3.
·
With the advice and consent of the Commissioner of FRES,
the SPCA will implement this plan at the County Emergency
Operation Center (EOC) in conjunction with CART.
ORGANIZATION AND ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES.
Primary Agencies
Suffolk County FRES
Local Animal Control Officers (ACOs)
Suffolk County SPCA
Designated Team Leaders
Suffolk County FRES and Suffolk County SPCA are
designated as the team leaders for this plan.
The SPCA is responsible for the following:
1.
·
Notify, activate, and mobilize all agencies involved in
disaster animal control issues.
2.
·
Coordinate all support agency actions in performance of
assigned missions.
3.
·
Enforce state animal control statutes.
4.
·
Coordinate requests for assistance and additional
resources necessary during performance of the mission with
the appropriate agencies.
5.
·
The SPCA's representative to the Emergency Operations
Center (EOC) is responsible for coordinating the
responsibility and activities assigned to the primary and
support agencies in this plan.
6.
·
Coordinate with Suffolk County Department Health for
the release of public information regarding animals and
health issues.
The town and local Animal Control Officers (with
support from SPCA and the Suffolk county Police) are
responsible for the following:
1.
·
Investigate all animal bites.
2.
·
Facilitate the transportation of injured, stray, or nuisance
animals to animal care facilities.
3.
·
Assist emergency response teams with animal related
problems.
4.
·
Make arrangements for the removal and disposal of small dead
animals.
5.
·
Enforce municipal animal control ordinance(s).
6.
·
Quarantine bite animals for observation.
7.
·
Impound animals at large.
8.
·
Euthanize sick and/or injured animals through assigned and
authorized persons, in accordance with local policies.
9.
·
Return wild animals to their natural environment.
10.
·
Investigate animal cruelty and neglect complaints.
11.
·
Facilitate the capture of nuisance animals.
12.
·
Help staff emergency animal shelters.
SUFFOLK COUNTY FRES
1.
·
Provide initial notification to the designated primary
agencies that the County EOC is open and operational and
that there is a need to implement all or portions of this
plan.
2.
·
If deemed necessary, assist in coordinating requests
for support between other agencies that are represented in
the EOC.
3.
·
Maintain, refine, and continually improve this pl
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