The Canadian Veterinary Reserve: The CVMA’s Animal Emergency Response Team

At the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), we’re pleased to consistently offer valuable services not only to Canada’s veterinarians, but also to animals, their owners, and society. Every so often we get involved in a particularly important project of which we are especially proud. The Canadian Veterinary Reserve (CVR) is one such example. The first decade of the 21st century has already seen its share of large scale animal emergencies. Events, such as the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom in 2001, the occurrence of avian influenza in British Columbia in 2004, and the devastation of hurricane Katrina in 2005 are familiar to us all. The CVMA has recognized that the veterinary profession needs to demonstrate due diligence and social responsibility by ensuring Canadian veterinarians are ready to help respond to future Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) outbreaks, or natural or man-made disasters (civil emergencies). In December 2005, the CVMA produced an Emergency Plan; a major component of that plan is the Canadian Veterinary Reserve (CVR). The CVR is a pool of trained non-government veterinarians ready to assist first responders in large scale animal emergencies. In FAD outbreaks or civil emergencies, the urgent requirement for human resources can exceed what governments and government agencies can be realistically expected to provide. The CVR offers an invaluable “surge capacity” to the people “on the ground” so that animal emergencies can be dealt with as quickly, effectively, and completely as possible. The CVMA vetted the concept of the CVR at a workshop in Ottawa in March 2006. From that 2-day meeting of Canada’s veterinary and animal health leaders came strong agreement on the 3 founding principles of the CVR: The CVR is valuable and necessary. The CVMA should be the home of the CVR. Because the CVR provides a public good, it should be funded by the public purse. In the spring and summer of 2006, the CVMA proceeded to identify a funding partner for the CVR, and develop plans for how the CVR would operate. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which has a clear mandate for dealing with reportable FADs, generously stepped forward to provide the fiscal resources to get the CVR up and running. The CVMA simply does not have the dollars to finance a project as large as the CVR; therefore, without the CFIA, the CVR would not be possible. November 2006 marked the official birth of the CVR. Recruitment of reservists began soon after. The response was excellent and by November 2007, 364 veterinarians from all across Canada had applied to the CVR. Three successful FAD training sessions were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease. To date, 140 reservists have received initial training. A compensation package has been developed so that reservists and their private practices neither suffer financially nor profit excessively while reservists are being trained or deployed. The next big step for the CVR is to further develop the CVR civil emergencies response by identifying a federal funding agency. Currently, the CVR is considering a partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Health Emergency Response Teams to form Animal Health Emergency Response Teams. The first response to civil emergencies is usually municipal or provincial, so the CVR must put in place memoranda of understanding with provincial Emergency Measures Organizations. As a first step, the CVR has recently met with Manitoba emergency planning officials. Also, CVR members were observers at a large scale simulated disaster in November 2007, and look forward to participating in a similar exercise in 2008. The consistent message of the CVR is that animals are a part of every emergency. Human safety and welfare are directly affected by the plight of animals. Animal owners are often extremely reluctant to leave dangerous circumstances because they fear they will be separated from their animals. Civil emergency planning must always consider this reality. Plans are also proceeding to involve animal health technicians and veterinary students in the CVR. A realistic goal is to have veterinary students “Reserve Ready” at graduation by supplementing course material already present in the DVM curriculum. In addition, 2 students will be hired this summer to conduct research on the role of veterinary students in veterinary reserves elsewhere in the world. Eventually, CVR reservists will be available to be deployed for animal emergencies outside of Canada. Dr. Brian Evans, Canada’s Chief Veterinary Officer and a strong proponent of the CVR, believes serving in the CVR offers reservists a new way to look at veterinary practice. He also has a vision of the CVR expanding to a non-emergency role in Canada, and providing new opportunities for reservists in animal welfare, epidemiological modeling, cultural sensitivity, and language proficiency. What can you do right now to get involved with the CVR? Apply to join the CVR. Application forms are available on the CVMA Web site (www.canadianveterinarians.net) under the CVR tab. The goal is to have at least 350 fully trained reservists by 2011. Stay informed. Under the CVR tab, you can find lots of information, including Frequently Asked Questions, the CVR newsletter, and the FAD training course materials. Spread the word. We want as many people as possible to know about the value the CVR provides for Canada. The CVR has come a long way in a short time, but there is still much to be done. FAD refresher training, civil emergency training, and communication efforts are at the top of the list. The CVR will become a true success when it is an indispensable part of Canada’s veterinary infrastructure, and when no one can imagine a response activity to a large scale animal emergency not including the participation of the CVR. Through long-term cooperation, and persistent effort, we will make that lofty vision a reality.

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