Thomas Cunningham

The National Animal Health Emergency Response Corps (NAHERC) started in 2001 protects public health by providing a ready reserve of private and State veterinarians and veterinarian technicians to combat threats to U.S. livestock and poultry in the event of a large outbreak of an exotic or foreign animal disease. NAHERC staff can be activated and supplement existing USDA-APHIS employees for periods of 3 weeks for domestic deployments or 30 days for international deployments. These positions are paid upon activation of the NAHERC and assignments can be accepted or decline by the NAHERC staff depending on availability.

However, during a disaster, the size and scope of an incident can easily overwhelm conventional local and state animal health resources and could be devastating to Companion pets, Cattle, Beef and Dairy industries. DHS has determined that an event deemed “worst case” and one of national significance will require between 1,000 and 6,000 DVM’s and times three veterinarian technicians. The NAHERC is an Emergency

Response organization designed to provide all-hazards large scale federal assistance during a disaster or animal disease event. Previously NAHERC activations included the 2001 UK FMD outbreak, 2003 Newcastle outbreak in California and the 2002 LPAI in Virginia. When an animal health emergency occurs, having staff enrolled and ready to provide an immediate response is necessary to protect both animals and human's in support of the National Response Plan and Essential Support Function #11.