Florida Veterinary Corps

Florida veterinarians and animal health technicians have volunteered to assist animal owners and local officials in responding to animal emergencies. The Florida Veterinary Corps is recruiting more volunteers to help protect our state.

The FVMA is assisting the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in maintaining the roster of volunteers and serves as the point of contact for calling volunteers after a disaster. You can agree to be listed as a Florida Veterinary Corps volunteer, a helper in times of need for your fellow veterinary professionals.

Read the following information and requirements for submitting your application for the Florida Veterinary Corps.

Why Florida Veterinary Corps?

The Florida Veterinary Corps (The Corps) has been established to enlist veterinarians and veterinary technicians who are willing to volunteer their services in responding to animal emergencies in the state of Florida.
During activation, Corps volunteers will work within an incident command structure under state Emergency Support Function 17 as part of the State Emergency Response Team.
The Corps will be a component of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, under its Florida State Agricultural Response Team, in cooperation with the Florida Veterinary Medical Association and the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
Corps volunteers will be kept informed as to the status of emergencies and the need for volunteers depending upon the specific emergency.
Volunteers may serve in veterinary infrastructure assessment teams, triage or emergency animal treatment teams, and animal disease surveillance or control teams under an incident command system.

Rationale

Protecting agriculture in Florida begins locally and requires cooperation, participation, and partnership.
Federal or other outside assistance to deal with an animal disease emergency may not be available for hours or days.
Animal agriculture in Florida is highly vulnerable to severe disruption and financial loss through natural disasters and exotic or zoonotic diseases.
Counties and state agencies must be prepared to respond to animal disasters through planning and identification of human and material resources.
Natural disasters are unpredictable and cannot be prevented.
Florida has a high risk for introduction of a foreign animal disease.

Obligation of Corps Volunteers

Corps volunteers will serve only when activated and under the Incident Command System, under state Emergency Support Function 17 as part of the State Emergency Response Team, and adhere to all state regulations and rules.
Corp volunteers must complete the following four (4) Incident Command System trainings to be eligible to apply for The Corps. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides the courses online, free of charge. It is estimated to take 12.5 hours total to complete all four courses. The following four FEMA ICS courses are critical to train Corps volunteers and personnel capable of responding as part of the state Emergency Support Function 17 and State Emergency Response Team.

FEMA Emergency Management Institute website to take the following required ICS training before submitting your volunteer application for the Florida Veterinary Corps.

IS-100.C: Introduction to Incident Command System

IS-200.C: Basic ICS for Initial Response

IS-700.B: National Incident Management System (NIMS) An Introduction

IS-800.D: National Response Framework, An Introduction

Communications will need to be maintained by Corps volunteers to stay informed as to emergency status and volunteer needs.
Volunteers will only be activated in response to specific emergency situations. Volunteers called upon may decline service at any time.

Become a Volunteer

Become a Volunteer

Florida Veterinary Corps Brochure

Florida Veterinary Corps Brochure

Request to Florida Veterinarians by Dr. Michael Short, State Veterinarian/Director +

By Dr. Mike Short
State Veterinarian/Director

Florida is continually threatened by natural disasters such as hurricanes and forest fires, by the introduction of foreign and emerging animal diseases, and by potential acts of bioterrorism. These threats affect animal health, public health and safety, and our state and national economies.

In the aftermath of any emergency, veterinarians and veterinary technicians may be needed to assist local, state, and national response teams in meeting the needs of our animals and people. This is why the Florida Veterinary Medical Association, the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services have established a volunteer corps of veterinarians and veterinary technicians, who will support response measures in the event of an emergency involving animals and animal health. These professionals would be a part of our State Agriculture Response Team (SART), serving under Emergency Support Function (ESF) 17 and our State Emergency Response Team. Veterinary staff may serve in assessing veterinary response capabilities and provide for emergency animal treatment in the aftermath of a natural disaster or may serve in support of disease surveillance and control efforts in combating devastating diseases affecting Florida's animals.

Although this program is unable to provide salary or benefits to its volunteers, volunteers working in an official capacity would be covered under state liability and workers' compensation programs.

Florida has a very strong veterinary community and this program is intended to provide greater resources to build our animal emergency response capacity. Please consider joining the Florida Veterinary Medical Association, the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in support of this program.

A link to our brochure is provided for your convenience.

We hope that you will give serious consideration to volunteering for this program. If interested, please complete and email the Florida Veterinary Corps volunteer application to the contact listed below.