During the past decade the poultry and livestock industries 1 have experienced many mass mortality incidents worldwide. In North America alone, mass animal losses have been caused by hurricanes (Katrina, 2005; Rita, 2005); rangeland wild fires (North Texas, 2006); blizzards (Kansas, Colorado, 2007); prolonged heat stress (California, 2006), flooding (Midwest, 2009); Exotic Newcastle Disease incursion (California, 2001) and avian influenza outbreaks (Alberta, 2004; Virginia, 2002; Maryland, Delaware, 2002). Furthermore, untold numbers of producers and their insurers have been impacted by local fires, ventilation system failures, building collapse, and disease, resulting in animal loss.

Responding to industry-wide concern regarding the frequency and impact of catastrophic animal losses, the U.S. Animal Health Association issued a resolution in 2009 calling for expanded research and emergency management programs to address “knowledge and capability gaps related to mass animal mortality management” (USAHA, 2009). This call was seconded by a comprehensive review (Gilpen et al., 2009) of more than 2,000 emergency response articles published during the period 1965-2007 that identified significant gaps in educational and training materials pertaining to agricultural emergencies and called for development and delivery of agriculture-specific information for first responders, livestock producers, importers, shippers, international travelers, and the general public.