Bovine Emergency Response Plan (BERP) Program

By Heidi Carroll

2017 Animal Care Wednesday Webinars
Husbandry Practices in the Spotlight
The scene of an accident is not the place to build your team! The BERP program was the featured discussion for the May Animal Care Wednesday Webinar. Lisa Pederson with North Dakota State University discussed how and why the program began, who the audience is for the program, and the impact this program is having.

Program Background
Nearly 10 years ago, a semi-truck of Canadian cattle overturned and both humans and cattle sustained serious injuries. None of the first responders knew what to do with the cattle and none of the local veterinarians were available to euthanize the cattle. This resulted in a dangerous and chaotic situation. Each day, more than 100,000 head of cattle are on the road. Accidents with animals on the road occur daily, and it is important that those traveling with the animals and responding to the scene of the accident know how to care for the animals.

What is the BERP program?
The BERP program is a training targeted at dispatchers, first responders, emergency managers, veterinarians, extension educators and others directly or indirectly involved in responding to vehicle accidents involving cattle and other animals. The program provides the education for emergency personnel to develop their own dispatch tree and emergency response plan when cattle are involved. Emergency responders will feel more prepared and knowledgeable if they are prepared for these situations.

Program Impact
Since the BERP program began, 83% of BERP participants feel the training helped mitigate emergency events involving cattle and 49% of those that have taken the program have an improvement in knowledge regarding handling cattle involved in accidents. One of the biggest impacts of the program is that 80% of those that have taken the BERP training have shared the knowledge they gained with others.