Elina Niño, Extension apiculturist and director of the California Master Beekeeper Program, examines a frame at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Center. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Elina Niño, Extension apiculturist and director of the California Master Beekeeper Program, examines a frame at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Center. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wendy Mather, co-program director of the California Master Beekeeper Program, began keeping bees in 2007. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wendy Mather, co-program director of the California Master Beekeeper Program, began keeping bees in 2007. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
In the preliminaries, UC Davis doctoral candidate Zach Griebenow answers a question while team member, UC Davis doctoral candidate Erin "Taylor" Kelly waits for her turn. (Photo courtesy of ESA)
In the preliminaries, UC Davis doctoral candidate Zach Griebenow answers a question while team member, UC Davis doctoral candidate Erin "Taylor" Kelly waits for her turn. (Photo courtesy of ESA)
UC Davis doctoral candidate Jill Oberski (right) answers a question in the preliminaries, while teammate UC Davis doctoral candidate Madison Hendrick listens. (Photo courtesy of ESA)
UC Davis doctoral candidate Jill Oberski (right) answers a question in the preliminaries, while teammate UC Davis doctoral candidate Madison Hendrick listens. (Photo courtesy of ESA)
In an overall view, the UC Davis Entomology Games Team (left) competes with Alabama's Auburn University team in the finals. (Photo courtesy of ESA)
In an overall view, the UC Davis Entomology Games Team (left) competes with Alabama's Auburn University team in the finals. (Photo courtesy of ESA)
UC Davis wins! From left are Madison Hendrick, Jill Oberski, Erin "Taylor" Kelly and captain Zach Griebenow. (Photo courtesy of ESA)
UC Davis wins! From left are Madison Hendrick, Jill Oberski, Erin "Taylor" Kelly and captain Zach Griebenow. (Photo courtesy of ESA)
UC Davis Entomology Games team display their prizes. From left are Jill Oberski, Madison Hendrick, Erin "Taylor" Kelly and captain Zach Griebenow. (Photo courtesy of ESA)
UC Davis Entomology Games team display their prizes. From left are Jill Oberski, Madison Hendrick, Erin "Taylor" Kelly and captain Zach Griebenow. (Photo courtesy of ESA)
A capacity crowd attended the memorial for UC Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen in the Putah Creek Lodge, UC Davis. (Photo by Tabatha Yang)
A capacity crowd attended the memorial for UC Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen in the Putah Creek Lodge, UC Davis. (Photo by Tabatha Yang)
A bee observation hive at the Eric Mussen memorial commemorated his love of honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A bee observation hive at the Eric Mussen memorial commemorated his love of honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (right) and Norm Gary, UC Davis emeritus professor of entomology, at the Western Apicultural Society meeting at UC Davis in 2014. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (right) and Norm Gary, UC Davis emeritus professor of entomology, at the Western Apicultural Society meeting at UC Davis in 2014. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Eric and Helen Mussen in front of the sculpture, Miss Bee Haven, at the UC Davis Bee Haven in 2014. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Eric and Helen Mussen in front of the sculpture, Miss Bee Haven, at the UC Davis Bee Haven in 2014. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Overview of the Kachin amber piece and its syninclusions. (Figure from the research article in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.)
Overview of the Kachin amber piece and its syninclusions. (Figure from the research article in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.)
Brendon Boudinot, active in the Entomological Society of America, reacts to a question asked at the Linnaean Games, now the "Entomology Games." Boudinot served on—and anchored—three of the UC Davis Linnaean Games teams that won national or international ESA championships. The Games are a lively question-and-answer, college bowl-style competition on entomological facts played between university-sponsored student teams. (ESA Photo)
Brendon Boudinot, active in the Entomological Society of America, reacts to a question asked at the Linnaean Games, now the "Entomology Games." Boudinot served on—and anchored—three of the UC Davis Linnaean Games teams that won national or international ESA championships. The Games are a lively question-and-answer, college bowl-style competition on entomological facts played between university-sponsored student teams. (ESA Photo)
New California Veterinary Emergency Team to Coordinate Training, Response
Quick Summary
Evacuating, sheltering, caring for animals is enormous task made more difficult in state under siege from wildfires
California Veterinary Emergency Team to coordinate robust, unified effort to help animals during disasters
Team will recruit and train volunteers, veterinarians on best practices in shelter and emergency medicine
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine uniquely positioned to administer program
University of California, Davis, leaders, veterinarians and California legislators today unveiled a new emergency program to help rescue animals in disasters. Called the California Veterinary Emergency Team and administered by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, the program will support and train a network of government agencies, individuals and organizations to aid domestic animals and livestock during emergencies.
California is providing $3 million a year for the California Veterinary Emergency Team, under legislation authored by Sen. Steve Glazer and incorporated into the state budget recently signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The program will be modeled after the UC Davis-led Oiled Wildlife Care Network, created in 1994 to mobilize volunteers and professionals to rescue and treat shorebirds and other wildlife that are injured during oil spills.
“We want to create a robust, coordinated effort statewide to help animals during disasters,” said Michael Ziccardi, director of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network and executive director of the One Health Institute. “The California Veterinary Emergency Team will bring together state and county agencies and organizations charged with emergency response to help them organize, train and adopt best practices.”
Current need
A primary goal of the new California Veterinary Emergency Team is to increase response capacity and help standardize disaster response across counties, bringing together disparate and fragmented groups. Currently, the California Animal Response Emergency System, or CARES, within the California Department of Food and Agriculture is charged with managing evacuation and care of animals during emergencies. They also work with community animal response teams and nonprofit organizations.
“Recent wildfires have overwhelmed the state's ability to safely evacuate and care for household animals and livestock,” Sen. Glazer said. “Twice in the past five years we have had to call on Texas to send an emergency team to assist. That puts not just animals at risk but also increases the danger for residents and first responders if people stay behind fire lines because they fear their animals will not be cared for. We need this new team to help train, coordinate and lead the hundreds of volunteers who are eager to help. Our goal is a team that is ready to respond anywhere in the state with a mobile command center, a clinic if necessary, and the veterinarians, equipment and medicine to get the job done.”
The California Veterinary Emergency Team would be available to mobilize response to disasters anywhere in California, operating under a memorandum of understanding with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Office of Emergency Services. Between disasters, the team would recruit, train and drill volunteers, conduct research, and train veterinarians and veterinary students on best practices in shelter and emergency medicine.
Leaders in the field
UC Davis has provided leadership in veterinary disaster response through its Veterinary Emergency Response Team, Wildlife Disaster Network partnership formed with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and its Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital disaster patient care. UC Davis VERT and hospital teams typically triage, evaluate, treat and/or rescue more than 1,000 animals in the field in every fire. During the 2018 Camp Fire alone, the teams helped more than 1500 animals, including 70 that were brought in for treatment at the hospital.
“The funding of the California Veterinary Emergency Team provides unprecedented resources that will bring multiple partners across the state of California together to enhance recruitment, coordination, and training of volunteers, veterinarians and veterinary students in best practices in disaster response and sheltering of animals in disasters,” said Michael Lairmore, former dean and distinguished professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine.
Lairmore said the university is committed to working with partners across the state to ensure that the California Veterinary Emergency Team program is successful. Developing the California Veterinary Emergency Team is expected to take some time. It's anticipated the program will be in an organizational phase during this fire season.
Media Resources
Media Contacts:
Michael Ziccardi, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, 530-979-7561, mhziccardi@ucdavis.edu
Steve Harmon, communications director for Sen. Steve Glazer, 916-539-5005