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TECHNICAL LARGE
ANIMAL EMERGENCY RESCUE
Throughout the
whole region ... bridges are few and primitive,' wrote A.L.
Shelton, author of 'Life Among the People of Eastern Tibet,'
from the September 1921 National Geographic. This image of a
precarious Mekong River crossing was first published in that
issue. 'With his mount securely trussed to the rope bridge,'
says the photo's caption, 'the owner supplies his own motive
power, hand over hand, as he pulls himself and beast across the
chasm with the river far below.'"
—From National Geographic "Flashback," April 2002, National
Geographic magazine
What is TLAER?
The principles behind using slings and ropes
for animal transport are not new, as shown in the National
Geographic photograph depicted above, Circa 1921.
Although
this farmer did not have access to a boat – he knew the water was
too dangerous to cross for his donkey. In many countries, a large
animal represents a huge investment and someone’s livelihood. Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue Training offers
training nationwide for emergency response services, such as fire
departments, rescue squads, law enforcement agencies, emergency
management, county and state emergency response teams and animal
control offices.
The course is also structured to educate
those who are not a member of a branch of emergency services, such
as veterinarians, large animal facility operators, animal rescue
organizations, large animal transporters, and large animal owners.
This course is designed with concentration
on livestock being the most encountered large animal at an emergency
incident, however the term “large animal” has come to define
livestock, exotic animals, zoo animals, and a multitude of other
possibilities.
In a TLAER incident… always “Expect the
Unexpected”!
TLAER as a
"Specialty Form of Rescue" is a new idea.
And this does NOT refer to “rescue” of
neglected, starving or abused animals – although many of the
techniques may be utilized on those types of scenes. However, it is not a new form of incident.
There are stacks of videos, personal accounts by veterinarians and
firefighters, newspaper articles that have been collected by the
instructors that testify to the commonality of these types of
rescues.
What does TLAER
require that makes it different?
Large animals are different – they do not
follow rules of physics or chemistry – but fight or flight under
fear and stress.
Innovation is often required by rescuers as
every incident will be different than the last one you attended.
Prevention and Education is a huge theme of
the courses because as animal owners and stakeholders learn to
prevent the common types of incidents, focus can be shifted to the
unusual and highly technical ones.
Over the last
two decades, as the occurrence of large animal incidents became more
common, branches of emergency services have begun to respond as the
public has adopted a "911 call does it all" mentality.
With the increase in the number of incidents
involving large animals, the need for specialized training in the
field of TLAER was exposed and more people, both related and
unrelated to emergency services, expressed a need for AWARENESS and
OPERATIONAL training in this specialty. Technician level training is
currently under development in coordination with other training
resources.
What the TLAER training course does is bring together (in two to
four days, depending on the training course level), all of the
latest concepts, techniques, procedures and equipment being used
today. With ongoing research and development, practical
applications, and improvements suggested by highly qualified
students, the courses are updated constantly which allows for the
utilization of the most current methods and equipment for each
course that is taught.
Please view the video provided for
more insight into what the TLAER Course is all about...
What is the goal of
TLAER?
The goal of TLAER is to improve the standard of care for large
animal victims while improving the safety margin for well meaning
emergency responders.
Prioritization of rescue methods emphasizes
using simple techniques and tools instead of highly technical
equipment where possible, and the philosophy of the training is to
underscore the Fire Service’s Incident Command System training and
operations at all times, as well as their tiered training levels:
Awareness, Operational, and Technician.
Where is TLAER?
In several locations in the
US,
there are specific TLAER trained response teams that are on call out
to these types of scenarios. Each squad or organization has their
own response protocols, equipment cache, and policies. These
departments, organizations, and teams have invested in some of the
specialized TLAER equipment necessary to more easily perform these
rescues. They
have in some cases developed and normally follow TLAER Standard
Operating Procedures/ Guidelines learned during the course when
responding to large animal incidents.
Many
of them have discovered that their TLAER equipment is useful for
moving extremely large HUMAN patients, too!
TLAER teams
can be operated privately, through emergency management services,
through rescue organizations, or other entities; with understanding
that the members attached to the responding agency or organization
have been certified through TLAER and have had the other mandatory
certifications required to perform a large animal rescue and must
not act outside their certification or scope of practice. Some
of the TLAER teams can be found on the "LINKS" page of this website.
If you can not locate a TLAER team in your area, please contact us
or speak with your local emergency management agency about
contacting us to schedule a training course in your area.
Who can do TLAER?
The training course is offered to virtually
anybody, experienced or inexperienced. However, the training
targets those who are involved with the USAR Teams, Fire Service,
Animal Control, Veterinarians, Zoo or Animal Parks, Emergency
Services, Law Enforcement, Wildlife, Rescue Squads, Animal Rescue
Organizations, Emergency Management, Disaster Teams, Commercial
Haulers, Livestock Operations, and large animal handlers.
Who is doing TLAER
or LAR (Large Animal Rescue)?
There are numerous
emergency services agencies, rescue organizations, veterinarians,
animal control services, and other members of the public that have
attended the TLAER course and have come to realize just how
important this training is and the inherent need for a large animal
rescue team. Overtime, they have managed to compile a list of
resources, obtain equipment and additional training, and develop
their own Large Animal Rescue Team to assist other agencies with and
handle large animal rescue incidents. Follow the link to a
list of large animal rescue teams currently in operation... Large
Animal Rescue Teams
THIS SITE WAS
UPDATED AUGUST 29, 2010