When disaster strikes, the impact on the animal population in a community can be devastating, Working with emergency management teams, shelter operations personnel, and agriculture and livestock experts, the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) is providing support for animal issues planning at the county level across Texas, helping to build a local framework to ensure animals are part of the plan and not part of the problem.
Helping Texans Plan Ahead
We are committed to building on the strong legacy of service that is a core value of Texas A&M University.
- Our team has one of the most active outreach commitments within Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS).
- We are focused on personal, professional, and community emergency preparedness and response.
- Our primary outreach mechanism has been conference presentations and exhibits, veterinary medical association (VMA) meeting presentations, and participation in emergency planning meetings.
In addition to our response and education activities, the team also provides service to Texas citizens through the following activities:
- Working with county officials to develop emergency response standard operating guidelines
- Providing web-based templates for standard operating guideline development
- Providing cross-disciple continuing education presentations
- Assisting other universities within The Texas A&M University System with the development of animal-related emergency response plans and guidelines
We have maintained an aggressive outreach program aimed at transferring emergency preparedness and response knowledge to the citizens, veterinarians, and emergency response officials of the state of Texas.
- Our team members who serve on the fourth-year veterinary rotation work with students to partner with community leaders in emergency preparedness efforts at the county level.
- Students and instructors travel to partnering communities for meetings with emergency management officials and community leaders.
- The results of these planning exercises include:
- Our students receive a transformational educational experience; and
- A Texas county becomes better prepared to protect and respond to the needs of animals during times of disaster.
Our team has a particular focus on the Panhandle region and has participated in major exercises and multiple planning meetings in that area.
- Our focus is based on the importance of the cattle feeding and dairy industries to our state.
- We’ve been successful and yielded a unique partnership between industry, emergency management officials, and the VMBS.
