Vol. 3, No. 9, September 2007 |
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"Volusia Prepares Business?
VPB
"Weve worked with Volusia Countys seven Chambers of Commerce, community colleges, the Center for Business Excellence ?even condominium associations,?Moore says. "We tested the concept during the statewide 2007 hurricane exercise and made a presentation at FEMAs Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland (http://training.fema.gov/). Were going to take this plan to Tallahassee in October to discuss the concept with the ESF 18 'Business & Industry?staff.
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HAZMAT Training is FREE to SART members!
The U.F. College of Veterinary Medicine will offer a two-hour Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Awareness Training program in conjunction with Gainesville Fire Rescue on October 26th from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. The course will include classroom instruction as well as static display of HAZMAT trucks and equipment that program attendees can inspect. Seating is limited, so please RSVP by contacting John Haven by email (havenj@vetmed.ufl.edu). The program is free to SART members. |
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Through the GrapevineLocal Initiatives
"One of our goals in Volusia County is to maximize our ability to respond to disasterslocally. We recognize that the state and federal levels can bring much greater resources to bear in an emergency situation, but trained and prepared local first response is timely ?it can almost be immediate ?and highly efficient. Effective local response, supplemented by state and federal efforts, give us the best possible opportunity to mitigate the effects of a disaster in our community.
Richard Moore
Planner II, Volusia County Division of Emergency Management |
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Vet School, FVMA and FDACS
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"Florida veterinarians and animal health technicians |
Florida. During activation, volunteers will work within an incident command structure
under ESF-17 as part of the State Emergency Response Team.
The Corps will be a component of Florida SART under the U.F. College of Veterinary
Medicine and FDACS-DAI and volunteers will be kept informed as to the status of
emergencies and the need for volunteers. Volunteers may serve in infrastructure
assessment teams, in triage or emergency animal treatment teams, or in animal
disease surveillance or control teams.
Corps volunteers will be required to serve only when activated but must adhere to all
state regulations and rules. Minimal training online and during activation is required.
Volunteers will need to stay informed as to emergency status and volunteer needs,
but they will only be activated in response to specific emergency situations.
Volunteers called upon may decline service at any time depending upon their
personal needs and circumstances.
Rationale: Natural disasters are unpredictable and cannot be prevented. Animal agriculture in Florida is highly vulnerable to severe disruption and financial loss through natural disasters and exotic or zoonotic diseases. Florida is at high risk for an outbreak of an exotic animal disease. |
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County and state agencies must be prepared to respond to animal disasters through planning and identification of human and material resources. Protecting agriculture begins locally, because outside assistance may not be available for hours or days. FDACS-DAI and the College of Veterinary Medicine will provide training in NIMS and foreign animal and zoonotic diseases through on-site and online courses. This training is required for credentialing by DHS and FEMA. For those interested, additional training in various topics will be provided.
Interested individuals may contact John Haven at the College of Veterinary Medicine: | |
FSA NewsClosings for Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program Now Set by Regions
FSA can now set application closing dates for its Noninsured Crop Disaster
NAP provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low
USDAs Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) has extended the Milk Income Loss Appropriations Act, 2007" extends the MILC payment period and rate for one month. Previously, the payment period and 34-percent rate expired at the end of August 2007, and the payment rate for September 2007 was zero. |
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Through the GrapevineGood Planning and still, Unintended Consequences
"An example of that type of unintended consequence is what happened during
Dr. Loerzel added, "Every emergency is a little different and it is very difficult, if not
Susan Loerzel, DVM, PhD Area Emergency Coordinator APHIS, USDA Editors Note: The 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak in England, which lasted 221 days, cost an estimated ? billion and resulted in the slaughter of more than six million animals. (www.telegraph.co.uk) |
Florida EARS Team Helps in Texas
When Raquel Aluisy received a call from Liz Wang, Executive Director of the Texas
Dean, eventually a Category 5 storm, slammed the Yucatan and Mexico, but Texas was spared and the team returned to Florida on Wednesday. How does she reflect on the experience? "We did not have trouble using school buses to transport people with their pets,?she says. "That is an issue we have still not worked out satisfactorily in Florida.? |
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- Help Is Requested by SART Members -
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Doctor Hank Stoddard in Dixie County: "Yes, dog fighting is increasing and becoming better organized. Since Dixie County is the "golden buckle? on the dog fighting belt, we have contact routes to sponsoring organizations. I am currently acting as an expert consultant to the prosecution legal firm on a pit bull human attack event. If not too much trouble, I would appreciate any local information about the breed, organized fighting and human attacks that may |
Detective Annie Henderson, Clay County Sheriffs Office ?Animal Crime Unit:
"I don't know if other counties are having this problem but Clay County is seeing a lot
of unqualified horse and dog rescues showing up that are not 501(3)c non profits.
These are people that are taking animals from individuals that can no longer keep
them or care for them, mostly getting them for free due to poor condition of the animal. They are breeding old mares and telling people who adopt them they are pregnant. They are charging $500 to $800 adoption fees for horses that are old and in poor shape playing on their emotions and telling inexperienced horse people that the animal is only 15 or 16 years old. Only to have the horse get sick and have to be euthanized a short time later. Are other counties are having this issue??Please respond to Detective Henderson at: ahenderson@claysheriff.com. |
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Through the GrapevineHelp is on the way!
"Individual vets want a place to help in an emergency and the Veterinary Reserve
John Haven
Director, U.F. College of Veterinary Medicine |
What is "US&R??
According to FEMA (www.fema.gov/emergency/usr/), urban search-and-rescue (US&R) involves the location, rescue (extrication), and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in confined spaces. Structural collapse is most often the cause of victims being trapped, but victims may also be trapped in transportation accidents, mines and collapsed trenches. |
Urban search-and-rescue is considered a "multi-hazard" discipline as it may be needed for a variety of emergencies or disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, storms and tornadoes, floods, dam failures, technological accidents, terrorist activities and hazardous materials releases. The events may be slow in developing, as in the case of hurricanes, or sudden, as in the case of earthquakes. |
A US&R Task Force consists of two 31-person teams, four canines, and a comprehensive equipment cache. (The FEMA site does not, as of this date, refer specifically to humans or animals, but speaks of "victims.? If a disaster event warrants national US&R support, FEMA will deploy the three closest task forces within six hours of notification, and additional teams as necessary. The role of these task forces is to support state and local emergency responders' efforts to locate victims and manage recovery operations. |
FSA: New Livestock/Crop Disaster Programs
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Paintball Toxicosis in Dog
Our Ocala friends Wayne and Jackie Dollack of Waynes World of Paintball (www.waynes-world.com) forwarded a note recently about "paintball poisoning? which was originally sent from Caroline Donaldson, DVM. According to Donaldsons note, "From January 1998 to January 2003, the ASPCA poison Control Center (APCC) received 44 calls regarding paintball ingestion by dogs that subsequently developed clinical |
signs. In some cases, the dogs may have ingested as many as 500 (!) paintballs at one time. Paintball ingredients vary depending on the manufacturer.
"In dogs, the most common clinical signs reported to the ASPCA APCC were vomiting (with or without paint), ataxia, diarrhea and tremors. These signs occurred as early as one hour after ingestion. In two cases, the dogs were euthanized because their central nervous system signs were unresponsive to treatment; no other deaths were reported. The exact number of ingested paintballs required to cause clinical signs is unknown. In one case, a 90-pound Labrador retriever showed clinical signs after ingesting 15 paintballs. If you believe that your dog is a victim of "paintball poisoning?direct your veterinarian to www.aspca.org/site/DocServer/toxbrief1203.pdf?docID+1521. [Editors Note: In 2004 I researched and wrote a book called ?em>Paintball Digest: The |
Complete Guide to Games, Gear and Tactics? for Krause Publications. Paintball manufacturer DraXxus told me that, "...modern paintballs are made entirely of non-toxic, food-grade ingredients, although oil-based paintballs are still made for foresters and farmers.?Actually what is inside the hollow gelatin ball is polyethylene glycol and wax. Used in substances like toothpaste, polyethylene glycol has a "low toxicity."] |
Through the GrapevineThe Next SART Conference
"Feedback weve gotten based on this years SART Conference in Clearwater was
Joe Kight, Senior Management Analyst II
ESF-17 ECO Division of Animal Industry, FDACS |
Broadening the Exotic Discussion
The world of invasive plants, animals and insects balances among conflicting forces as precariously as a tightrope walker in swirling fog. How far could she fall? Perhaps only inches or perhaps that slender rope stretches across a dark and bottomless chasm.
What if a new butterfly with shimmering iridescent violet, magenta and yellow wings were proliferating in Florida; first, by the thousands and then by the hundreds of thousands? The butterfly lays eggs only on roses, its larvae consuming them voraciously? You could reasonably expect a significant, perhaps a heated public debate. Neither the butterfly nor the rose, as we grow it in our gardens, are native to Florida. Example: Starling and Parakeet Such debates are part of our daily conversation with one another and with nature in the Sunshine State. Consider the European Starling and the Monk Parakeet. Each is an exotic invasive, but perhaps their designation should change. Populations of both are large and reproducing, although the starling is a "nasty pest?while the parakeet, perhaps because it is brightly colored, is generally thought of as a "charming new resident.? |
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The latest information about monk (also called Quaker) parakeets in Florida can be found at (http://myfwc.com/critters/exotics/exotics.asp) but web sites from Chicago (http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/winter2003/monkparakeets.html) and New York (www.brooklynparrots.com) report established breeding colonies. Apparently this Argentine bird is now wild in the U.S. after escaping from pet stores or the cages of pet owners in the late ?0s or being intentionally released. In other words, the charming green and white bird is similar to the starling but with huge, identifiable nests and, as its far fewer numbers and confining urban niche indicate, it is not as successful. |
Cute. Messy. Invasive. We may thrill to see them, but this parakeet is apparently hanging on and a quick check of on-line sources indicates that this exotic has followers who file lawsuits on its behalf, write letters to the editor and form support groups. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (at www.myfwc.com), "The Monk Parakeet is probably the most widespread and successful parrot in Florida, due in large part to its highly |
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SART Member, Veterinarian Passes Away
[NOTE: When we heard that Dr. Ernest Smith wished to be removed from the SART member rolls, we inquired about the reason. His daughter Mindy replied that the good doctor had passed away. "Dad volunteered with so many organizations we aren't even sure what they all are.?Because Florida SART is a community we pass along Dr. Smith's obituary.] | ||
Dr. Smith loved his family, profession and alma mater, Cornell. He recently endowed the Dr. Robert W. Kirk Practitioner in Residence program at Cornell to honor an influential teacher and encourage practicing veterinarians to expand their knowledge and use their experience to educate students. Dr. Smith is survived by his wife of 39 years, Abby Smith and children Jeremy (New Orleans, LA) and Mindy (Raleigh, NC), as well as his sister Lois Rubin and her husband, Richard Rubin; brother and sister-in-law, Barry and Arminda Perl; and in-laws, Hank and Marsette Perl. He was preceded in death by his parents, Saul and Ann Smith. Donations in Ernest Smith's name can be made to the Palm Beach Synagogue (www.pbos.org) or to the Robert W. Kirk Practitioner-in-Residence Fund, Office of Alumni Affairs and Development, Box 39, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-6401. |
Florida's Wildlife ?SignsFor an opportunity to win one of our coveted Elvis Memorial Bookmarks, can you tell us (rsa5@cox.net) where this sign is located? With the "Crocodile Crossing?warning posted in the Upper Keys on U.S. Highway 1, it must easily be one of Florida's most exotic traffic signs.[top] About the SART SentinelEditor: Rick Sapp, PhD, Technical Writer, Florida Department of |
Associate Editor: Joe Kight, State ESF-17 Coordinator, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Division of Animal Industry [kightj@doacs.state.fl.us]
The SART SENTINEL is an E-mail newsletter prepared monthly by Rick Sapp and the members of the Florida State Agricultural Response Team. Past issues of the Sentinel are archived on the Florida SART Web Site, www.flsart.org.
If you have a story or photo that you would like to have considered for publication in The SART SENTINEL, please contact the Editors.