National Animal Welfare Emergency Management Group - Coordinating welfare response to natural disasters

Sheep

Disasters can conjure up many different images. One of the most notorious natural disasters in recent times was the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. While New Zealand has been fortunate to have avoided an emergency of this size and scale, it still has to cope with its own share of "nature running amok".

Events such as the lower North Island flood of February 2004, the Canterbury snow storm in June 2006 and the Bay of Islands flood in March 2007 provide ample evidence that we are not immune from natural disasters. And the bad news is that climate change is expected to increase the frequency, intensity, and magnitude of these adverse events.

Farmed animals vulnerable

What does this reality mean for New Zealand's livestock industries? Farmed animals occupy close to 50 percent of our land mass and are therefore particularly at risk in major adverse events. Our economy, with 42 percent of merchandise exports derived from animal products, shares this vulnerability.

The better its state of preparedness for adverse events, then, the better that 'New Zealand Inc' can ensure both the welfare of its farmed animals, and its economic viability. This is where the National Animal Welfare Emergency Management (NAWEM) Group fits into the picture.

NAWEM is a relatively new group, having met for the first time in April 2006. Its members are representatives from:

  • Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF)
  • Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM)
  • Federated Farmers of New Zealand Inc (FF)
  • Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Inc
  • World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)
  • New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA).

The organisations which comprise NAWEM were selected because of their national or international scope, operational focus and expertise in working with animals on a daily basis or during civil defence emergencies.

NAWEM recognises the need for coordination and sharing of resources during emergencies, at both the national and regional level. It aims to:

  • raise awareness of the importance of planning for animal welfare management during adverse events
  • promote animal welfare emergency management training resources
  • coordinate responses to animal welfare issues during adverse events.

Raising awareness: stakeholder meeting

So, how is NAWEM going about achieving these objectives? Regarding the first goal of raising awareness, NAWEM hosted its first public stakeholder meeting

in Wellington on 12 April 2007. The purpose of the meeting was to present to the audience:

  • international and national perspectives on management of animal welfare during emergencies; and
  • the work that NAWEM has been doing to advance New Zealand's preparedness for protecting the welfare of livestock and companion animals during adverse events.

About 60 people attended the meeting, from a wide range of animal welfare stakeholder organisations.

Speaking at the meeting, Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton underlined the importance of groups working in partnership to care for animals when there is extreme weather. "The need for coordinated work has been highlighted by dramatic weather events. Few of us from Canterbury have forgotten last year's snow. Back then we saw the critical relationship between climate, feed and animal welfare," he said.

"In a country as dependent as ours on animals and weather, the welfare of our animals and their care is more than an academic or marginal issue. There are a lot of groups with a concern for animal welfare in New Zealand - and the benefits of working in partnership are so clear that it is surprising that the national group is a recent initiative."

He urged all those with a stake in the animal industries to ensure they have high standards of care and are prepared for "the inevitable".

"Our community expects a well coordinated and efficient response to animal welfare issues during adverse events like storms. We are vulnerable, too, to international trade repercussions, unless we can demonstrate the highest standards of animal care. Consumers in our export markets increasingly want to know that products have been farmed ethically, and they will react to poor animal welfare stories. Negative stories in international media can badly damage our reputation.

"The more knowledge we have, the better we can coordinate our responses and secure the viability of both individual farmers and the wider animal-based industries," the Minister concluded.

NAWEM Group Chair, Dr Ian Dacre, said NAWEM gratefully acknowledges the support it was given by the Minister of Agriculture in his opening address to the first stakeholder briefing and discussion afternoon of NAWEM on 12 April.

Training resources

Flooding
The recent Northland floods area a reminder that New
Zealand is not immune from natural disasters, with
consequences for animal, as well as human, welfare.
Photo: Gill Jackson

Concerning its second objective of promoting training resources, NAWEM has applied to the Sustainable Farming Fund for a grant to host a series of stakeholder workshops. If the bid is successful, NAWEM plans to host an annual training workshop, for three consecutive years, on the techniques of managing animal welfare issues during emergencies.

NAWEM is also planning to send two delegates from New Zealand to a Disaster Response Technical Training Course, in November 2007, which is being provided by WSPA. Among the key objectives for the course are that each participant would:

  • understand response options to different core disasters and recommended best practice response including veterinary remedial action; and
  • gain an awareness of technical rescue techniques and the dangers disaster operations pose to responders.

It is anticipated the participants for the course will comprise 12 WSPA disaster staff, plus 12 delegates from key global member societies including Australia and New Zealand, as well as a delegation from China. The New Zealand delegates will be feeding the information they have gained during this course back into NAWEM's annual animal welfare emergency management stakeholder workshops referred to above.

Coordinating welfare responses

Regarding its third objective, of coordinating responses to animal welfare issues during adverse events, NAWEM will channel its animal welfare advice through MCDEM's civil defence and emergency management infrastructure. MCDEM has divided New Zealand into 16 civil defence and emergency management regions. Each of these regions has a welfare advisory group (WAG), responsible for looking after all welfare issues during an emergency. NAWEM will be appointing an Animal Welfare Coordinator, from the NZVA, to assist each WAG in the management of its animal welfare issues.

During an emergency which is localised to a specific region, the respective Regional Animal Welfare Coordinator will provide, with assistance from NAWEM members if necessary, the required animal welfare advice. During a national emergency, NAWEM will convene in Wellington to receive and coordinate information from the Regional Animal Welfare Coordinators.

A work in progress

While none of NAWEM's key objectives have yet been met, it is a work in progress. Although animal welfare is ultimately an individual responsibility first, NAWEM recognises that a well-coordinated and efficient response to animal welfare issues during an adverse event will yield many benefits. It will ensure that the welfare of our animals is looked after to the maximum degree possible under such circumstances. In addition, a well-executed response will improve community resilience and ensure the long-term economic viability of both individual farmers and the wider industry.

For more information about NAWEM, or to discuss how your organisation could become involved, please contact:

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Page last updated: 30 April 2008