Local first responders spent the weekend learning how to manage vehicle accidents with livestock haulers and trailers.
The Livestock Emergency Response Course (LERC) hosted 12 people in Jaffray on June 8 and 9, to teach safe methods of dealing with scared and injured animals.
“First responders are specifically trained to assist humans,” said Back Country Horsemen of B.C. East Kootenay Chapter Spokesperson, Erin Bryant.
“Having animals involved, like in an accident when a cattle hauler tips and bursts open, what do you do? That’s what this course is about.”
The two-day course involved one day of theory and another day of hands-on learning with a horse mannequin named Calamity and some live horses in a controlled environment.
“We had the animals loose in a strange arena, with strange people around,” said Bryant. “The instructor, who is very horse-knowledgeable, went after the horses to get them excited and running. In groups, they went out and caught all the horses in the arena.”
Bryant said this training is important in the East Kootenay, as Highway 3 sees a high volume of trucks hauling cattle and pigs and private residents transporting horses and other livestock.
“Some first responders will say they dont need the training, then they get into a situation like that then they realize the training would have saved a lot of animals and a lot of extra injuries and time,” said Bryant.
Bryant said the program was well-received and they hope to bring it back in the future.
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