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Work session: state veterinarian urges Utah County to shore up local animal disaster plans
Summary
At a work session commissioners heard from Dr. Crawford, Assistant State Veterinarian, who urged local jurisdictions to build animal-response annexes to emergency plans, prioritize small-animal sheltering linked to human shelters, and use CERT training modules and local partnerships to improve preparedness following recent wildfires.
Utah County commissioners heard a work-session presentation on May 1 urging stronger local planning for animals in natural disasters.
Commissioner Ivy introduced the item and invited Dr. Crawford, Assistant State Veterinarian with the Utah Department of Agriculture, to present. "Previous to my employment at the Department of Ag, there was an Utah Emergency Animal Response Coalition... that was disbanded completely in 2016 and no longer exist," Dr. Crawford said, noting the state has limited resources for animal response and that preparedness will need to be built locally. She recommended creating animal annexes to local emergency operations plans that assign roles to local government, first responders, health department staff, animal control, shelters and volunteer groups.
Dr. Crawford emphasized small-animal sheltering as an urgent gap when human shelters open. "When you're moving people into a shelter, they're gonna bring all their animals with them, and I think that creates an issue," she said, and suggested coordinating with the Red Cross and local humane societies to plan animal sheltering that aligns with human shelter locations.
She also recommended using CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) animal-response modules and free FEMA independent-study courses to train volunteers and staff, and encouraged partnerships with feed stores, boarding kennels and local veterinarians. Dr. Crawford said the Department of Agriculture can help with grant applications for supplies and training through the Citizen Corps program.
Commissioner Ivy and other commissioners thanked Dr. Crawford and asked where the county could begin; she suggested focusing on small-animal sheltering plans attached to existing human shelter sites and building local stakeholder groups to coordinate training and supplies.
The work session concluded with no formal action; commissioners moved into the scheduled closed meetings after the session.
