Private veterinarians in an emergency response

Agriculture Victoria is strengthening Victoria's biosecurity preparedness for an emergency animal disease outbreak.

Private veterinarians will play a critical role in supporting government to Emergency Animal Disease (EAD) outbreaks such as foot-and-mouth disease or lumpy skin disease.

In the event of an EAD incursion in Victoria, Agriculture Victoria would be responsible for the control and eradication of the disease including decisions around control strategies, surveillance, detection, and any necessary destruction and disposal of livestock. Private veterinarians can assist Agriculture Victoria by providing valuable expertise and surge capacity to assist in a response.

As part of our planning, it is crucial to understand how government and private veterinarians from across our state can work together to prepare and ensure the best possible outcome for our agriculture industry.

Key tasks required from private veterinarians

Emergency response work could include:

• investigation of suspect cases
• in-field surveillance
• laboratory and diagnostic sampling
• euthanasia and vaccination
• epidemiology

To provide support and expertise, temporary employment or contracted service opportunities would be available for private veterinarians to work in the field , mobile laboratory or incident control centres to provide essential services to help control the spread of diseases.

A nationally consistent approach

The Animal Health Committee (AHC) for Australia has established a working group on the Engagement of Private Veterinarians during an EAD response, which has developed the National Guidance document.

Working group members from all states, territories and Commonwealth governments, Australian Veterinary Association, Animal Health Australia and Wildlife Health Australia met regularly to continue this work.

You can also express interest through your annual registration with the Veterinary Practitioners Registration Board of Victoria.

For further information or questions contact ead.workforce@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

Online training for private veterinarians to support emergency responses

A range of online courses are available for private veterinarians to assist Agriculture Victoria in emergency preparedness. These resources cover a range of topics and are recommended learnings to support veterinarians in upskilling and awareness to become involved in emergency response work.

While the purpose of the training  is to increase awareness and have veterinarians trained for an emergency response, they are not a mandatory requirement to become involved. A number of the training offerings do contribute towards Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points.

Online training

Some training content could offend some readers. This graphic representation is necessary for training of qualified veterinarians.

Read about how private veterinarians have been supporting Agriculture Victoria’s emergency management activities.

Veterinarians play a critical role in supporting Agriculture Victoria’s emergency response work and here are some highlights and stories from private veterinarians who have been involved in our emergency response efforts so far, sharing their experiences, challenges and the impact it has had on them.

Private veterinarians in an emergency animal disease response

Other resources

• Emergency Animal Diseases: A field guide for Australian Veterinarians
• AUSTVETPLAN
• Maintaining Australia's Freedom from Transmissable Spongiform Encephalopathies – Animal Health Australia