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Newsletters:
Have you felt the need to assist people with their animals during a disaster; however, were not sure what to do?
- Here's your answer…join the Mississippi Animal Response Team (MART). MART is the official coordination and response team for disasters involving animals and agriculture. MART volunteers are educated and trained to support the county, regional, and state emergency management efforts and incident management teams.
Who should be involved in MART?
- Emergency Managers, Producers, Veterinarians, Extension Agents, Animal Control Officials, District Conservationists, People in Agricultural Businesses, Law Enforcement Officers, Public Health Workers, Animal Health Professionals… the General Public that is interested in animals and agriculture .
How do you join MART?
- Please return the completed MART Registration Form and Code of Conduct to Beth Adcock at beth@mdac.state.ms.us.
Oil Spill Frequently Asked Questions Mississippi Animal Response:
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WHO IS HELPING OILED BIRDS IN MISSISSIPPI ?
The US Fish and Wildlife Service and Tri-State Bird Rescue (a non-governmental organization hired by British Petroleum) are responding to address oiled birds in Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama , Florida and Texas . Responders in these organizations have specialized training in handling of wildlife in hazardous materials.
HOW CAN I HELP THE ANIMALS AFFECTED BY THE OIL SPILL?
This event is unique because it is large scale and requires specialized training to ensure the safety of responders. If you have animal handling experience and live in Mississippi you may join the MS Animal Response Team (MART) to receive information on training and volunteer opportunities. The MART maintains a listserv and sends information out by email on a regular basis. For safety reasons, persons without prior animal handling experience will not be utilized to work with animals affected by the oil.
If you have animal handling or animal medical experience and live outside of MS, contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service which sends you to Volunteer Mississippi. Other volunteer opportunities may be found at the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians' website.
If you do not have animal handling experience and/or do not live in MS, please visit the MS Commission for Volunteer Services for further volunteer opportunities.
HOW DO I JOIN MART?
Fill out the MART Registration Form and Code of Conduct. The forms may be found on this website under the “Emergency Programs” tab and the “MS Animal Response Team” subject. Please send both forms to Beth Adcock at your earliest convenience (please sign or indicate that you will abide by the Code of Conduct).
Beth Adcock
P.O. Box 175
Wesson , MS 39191
Fax: 601-359-1177MART members are required to complete three Incident Command System classes – ICS 100, 200, 700. These classes are extremely important, teaching us to work within a nationwide system. Classes are free and can be taken online at your convenience. The class link is FEMA. Training certificates are issued electronically and can be forwarded to Beth electronically.
I AM A MISSISSIPPI WILDLIFE REHABILITATOR, HOW CAN I HELP?
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is working with specific governmental and non-governmental organizations to address wildlife issues. British Petroleum (BP) has hired Tri-State Bird Rescue to establish large scale wildlife rehabilitation centers. FWS, Tri-State, and the MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks are working with local organizations to utilize local wildlife rehabilitators.
State rehabilitation organizations, permitted wildlife rehabilitation organizations or private rehabilitators (Wildlife Paraprofessionals) can help by contacting the US FWS. Please provide the following information if you would be available to assist in the oil spill response efforts. Your name, address including city and state, phone number (prefer cell phone and alternate numbers), email address, if you have prior oil spill experience, and how far you can travel, as well as:
a. If you are a Rehabilitator with at least 6 months of experience;
b. What species you have experience with, i.e. wading birds, raptors, pelagic seabirds, waterfowl, etc. It would also be beneficial to know if you are a veterinarian or an avian veterinarian, a veterinary technician, or a well-seasoned rehabilitator;
c. If you have a minimum of 4 hours of HAZCOM certification;
d. If you have Rabies pre-exposure shots;
e. Your availability. (this can be a rough estimate by identifying dates available)
WHAT IS A WILDLIFE PARAPROFESSIONAL?
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has provided guidance on how “wildlife paraprofessionals” may assist in oil spill response efforts. Wildlife paraprofessionals are defined as those who:
• Either possess, or work directly under a person possessing, an active permit or authorization related to the species to be worked on;
• Are affiliated with an organization working within the Wildlife Branch of the Incident Command Structure (ICS), or are staff members of a wildlife Trustee agency;
• Agree to work under, and abide by, appropriate planning documents prepared by the Unified Command (such as Site Safety Plan, Incident Action Plan, public affairs requirement, etc.), and
• Have a working knowledge and experience (at least 3 months) with the general protocol, procedures and safety hazards associated with working on the species of question.
I AM A WILDLIFE PARAPROFESSIONAL BUT I HAVE NOT HAD HAZCOM TRAINING. HOW CAN I GET TRAINING?
Because your safety is important, you must attend health and safety training before you can assist with any oil response efforts. BP is offering a choice of computer based training or classroom training. This free training is required by BP and will provide you both awareness and safety information for this endeavor. There is a scored test with the training.
To sign up for a live training class in the Gulf Coast Region please call this number to enroll in training classes that are being offered in the Gulf Coast region - 1-866-647-2338.
To enroll in the computer based training (CBT), you must be affilitated with an organization approved to utilize the CBT. MART members are authorized to use the CBT and instructions may be obtained through Beth Adcock, the MART Coordinator, at beth@mdac.state.ms.us . Beth will verify that you are a MART member before issuing the instructions.
HOW LONG MUST I DEPLOY TO PARTICIPATE?
Volunteers may be able to assist for a single day up to several weeks. Specific deployment times are unknown at this time. Every effort is being made to facilitate MART members enrolling as contractors for supporting the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center . This will enable persons assisting to stay longer.
WHEN TO EXPECT TO BE CALLED?
There are many very specialized trained people standing by to assist animals in this disaster. However, the response may be long and drawn out. Many skilled persons may be needed throughout this event. Information on response opportunities, training, and updates will be provided regularly through the MART listserv.
I LIVE OUTSIDE OF THE AFFECTED STATES. HOW CAN I HELP THE ANIMALS?
If you are a wildlife paraprofessional or a person working in the veterinary field and are interested in providing wildlife assistance contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service at fw4ppc@fws.gov or 404-679-7049.
WHAT DO I DO IF I FIND OILED WILDLIFE?
If you find oiled or injured birds, do not remove them from their habitat. Rather, document the location, time, number of animals, your name and the association with which you are affiliated.
Please do not attempt to decontaminate or rehabilitate wildlife at home. A toll-free number 866-557-1401 has been established to report oil or injured wildlife. BP has hired Tri-State Bird Rescue to coordinate the wildlife rehabilitation efforts and they are working with local governmental and non-governmental organizations to stage area rehabilitation locations and volunteers.
HOW DO I FIND INFORMATION ON THE OIL SPILL?
To request volunteer information on the Gulf of Mexico Transocean Drilling Incident , call 1-866-448-5816.
The following links have useful information:
1. Deepwater Horizon Response. This site provides information from the state, federal, and private industry arenas. This is a unified response with BP taking the primary responsibility for response efforts. This is an official site that will provide general response information. There is contact information for volunteers on this site. Help may be needed to clean beaches.
2. MEMA. This is the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency's website. They have established a call center that is open from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. until further notice. The number is 866-920-MEMA (6362).
3. Mississippi.gov. This is the official State of Mississippi website and will have updates on the emergency status.
4. Tri-state Bird Rescue & Resource. Tri-state Bird Rescue and Research is coordinating the bird issues related to the oil spill. We are currently working with them to find a base location in MS. We are also trying to obtain additional information on how volunteers can assist and what kind of training will be needed.
5. Audubon Center Pascagoula River. Includes information on training to assist wildlife.
6. Ocean Springs. Provides information on cleanup training.
Please Remember: Self-deployment of non-trained volunteers and spectators will potentially hinder rescue and recovery efforts.
Novel H1N1 Swine Flu:
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The novel H1N1 flu virus continues to spread here in the US , as well as around the globe, while health officials await the release of the H1N1 vaccine. This particular flu virus is a human disease and animals are not a part of the transmission of disease between people. However, swine as well as other animals are susceptible to the disease, and owners have been taking precautions to prevent the infection of their animals. Therefore it comes as no surprise, that USDA has confirmed the infection in pigs, ferrets and a cat with the novel H1N1 flu strain. The infection of these animals has been found to be the result of family members suffering from influenza and subsequently infecting the animals.
To date, animals have not been involved in the transmission of disease between people. People cannot get sick from handling or eating pork and pork products.
For more information:
About USDA's 2009 pandemic H1N1 efforts is available at www.usda.gov/H1N1flu Update on animals affected by novel H1N1 Influenza AVMA's H1N1 USDA Update on confirmed cases Information about the human cases in Mississippi can be found at Mississippi State Department of Health National Updates about Novel H1N1 cases as well as information about preventing the spread of the disease Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
New Entry Requirements for Bulls Entering Louisiana
- In accordance with the emergency provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, specifically R.S. 49:953 (B), and under the authority of R.S. 3:2093, 3:2095, and 3:2097 the Louisiana Board of Animal Health declares an emergency to exist and adopts by emergency process the attached regulations for the reporting of trichomoniasis in cattle, the entry of bulls into Louisiana, the testing of bulls for trichomoniasis and the movement of bulls testing positive for trichomoniasis.
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Mississippi involved in Contagious Equine Metritis Outbreak
- On December 15, 2008, the State of Kentucky confirmed a case of contagious equine metritis (CEM) in a quarter horse stallion on a premises in central Kentucky. A total of seven stallions have been confirmed as positive for CEM by USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories. Four (4) of the infected stallions are located in Kentucky and three are in Indiana. The Indiana stallions spent time on the index premises in Kentucky during the 2008 breeding season. An exposed horse is one that was on the index premises in Kentucky and/or one that was bred to a CEM-positive horse, either naturally or via artificial insemination.
: MORE