Manage animal health incidents

This standard is suitable for those who manage animal health incidents and emergencies as part of a responsible organisation. 

It is applicable to all situations involving animal health incidents and emergencies and applies to all types of animals and birds. It relates to the activities that you need to undertake before, during and after an animal health incident or emergency.

To meet this standard, you will be able to:

• prepare for animal pest and disease incidents

• undertake actions to investigate and implement the necessary processes

• undertake actions to respond and implement the necessary processes

• undertake actions to recover and implement the necessary processes

For you to fully understand the content of the standard, and the activities it describes, it is important that you are able to understand the terms used within the standard. See Glossary for some definitions that should help you with this.

1. encourage ongoing observation by all those who keep or monitor animals and birds to detect early signs of notifiable pests and diseases
2. provide alerts and information on significant animal pests and diseases, what should be reported and how to report 
3. check that plans and procedures are in place to manage the investigation, response and recovery phases of animal health incidents
4. confirm that staffing resources are available and have received appropriate training 
5. receive notification of a suspected animal health incident and initiate the necessary investigations to establish a diagnosis of the pest or disease and assess the significance of the findings
6. confirm the status of the pest or disease incident, the control authority, the scale of response, whether containment or eradication is feasible and take any immediate actions 
7. confirm the membership of the Incident Management Team and their responsibilities for response 
8. determine the incident action plan required to respond to the animal health incident
9. provide the initial response to the animal health incident
10. establish and maintain communication with the incident response team and everyone involved in, or affected by, the incident
11. monitor the success of the eradication/containment response outcome and plan the recovery phase 
12. maintain records of the incident and the actions taken in accordance with organisation procedures
13. evaluate and report on the management of the animal health incident
14. evaluate the lessons learned from the incident to update plans, procedures and policies

1. the importance of encouraging ongoing observation to detect early signs of key animal and bird pests and diseases and provide alerts and information
2. the importance of providing information on what should be reported and how this should be done
3. the relevant nation-specific legislation relating to the management of animal health incidents
4. the duties of responsible organisations for the management of animal health incidents 
5. the plans and procedures in place to manage the investigation, response and recovery phases of animal health incidents 
6. the staffing resources available and the importance of providing appropriate training
7. how to initiate investigations to establish a diagnosis and assess the significance of a reported pest or disease incident and know what investigations are needed
8. how to implement generic and specific animal health contingency plans 
9. how to define the status of the pest or disease incident, the control authority, the scale of the response, whether containment or eradication is feasible and any immediate actions
10. the role and membership of the Incident Management Team and their responsibilities for response 
11. how to determine the incident action plan required to respond to the animal health incident, and provide an initial response
12. how to establish and maintain communication, who needs to be communicated with and the importance of preparation
13. how to monitor the success of the eradication/containment response outcome and how to plan the recovery stage 
14. how to close the animal health incident 
15. how to evaluate the management of the animal health incident
16. the organisation’s  procedures for recording and reporting on the management of an animal health incident

Assess the significance of the outbreak in relation to:

• location

• extent

• economic

• public health

• environment

Biosecurity: Measures aimed at preventing the introduction and/or spread of pathogenic organisms

Emergency: an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous event or situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. An event or situation that threatens serious damage to human welfare in a place in the UK, the environment of a place in the UK, or the security of the UK or of a place in the UK.

Incident: an unintended event or situation that disturbs normal operations and requires a response from the emergency services or other responders. An incident can be defined as minor, moderate or major with a range of impacts on the organisation, sector, environment and people.

Incident Management Team: The management team used to respond and recover from animal health outbreaks 

Potential actions to respond to an animal health incident:

• Preventing movement in and out of the area

• Thorough cleaning of equipment and machinery

• Implementing biosecurity measures

• Implementing control and containment measures

• Tracking and tracing potentially affected animals

• Maintaining communication with all involved

• Implementing pest and disease management procedures to contain or eradicate

• Monitoring the results

Prepare for animal health incidents including:

• Outbreak documentation and guidance

• Pest and disease specific contingency plans

• Standard operating procedures

• Diagnostics protocol

• Training and exercises

• Staffing resources

Recovery phase:

• De-escalation – the gradual removal of restrictions

• Support for the individuals, businesses, communities and environments affected

• Evaluation of lessons learned 

• Recommendations and review of current plans and procedures

Responsible organisations e.g.

• DEFRA

• Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)

• Scottish Government (SG)

• NatureScot

• Welsh Government

• DAERA