Engage owners and operators of custom kill slaughter facilities in a partnership to improve biosecurity practices to ensure continuity of business operations during an ongoing animal disease event…

Engage owners and operators of custom kill slaughter facilities in a partnership to improve biosecurity practices to ensure continuity of business operations during an ongoing animal disease event by providing a safe and secure outlet for producers who utilize their services. We would also like to address biosecurity inadequacies or lapses whenever producers engage in activities off-site, such as fairs and shows, where animals move in-transit to locations where commingling occurs. While the activities of these subsets of agriculture producers appear dissimilar, these groups share commonalities with regard to the movement of animals, the reliance on non-veterinary professionals and the venues they patronized. Custom slaughter facilities will be visited and queried as to range of services, such as slaughter with or without further processing, other operational practices, and their current customer base to identify risks for disease introduction and methods for risk mitigation. Likewise, data gathered by the KDA division of shows and fairs will be used to assess participant's knowledge and adoption of biosecurity practices. Training exercises focusing on euthanasia and disposal options for small ruminants will be held for producers, processors, constituent organizations, KDA employees and representatives from state regulatory agencies. In addition, state animal health employees will receive training on the proper use and handling of captive bolt guns, foamers and other depopulation equipment. This project will develop and pilot biosecurity plan templates for custom kill facilities and for owners of exhibition animals. The utilization of a secure food supply plan and adoption of BIO-secure practices will be evaluated, and educational materials developed and distributed to producers, facility operators, participants of livestock exhibitions and management of show venues. This project will address knowledge gaps in biosecurity among members of these niche industries. Furthermore, linking with these groups prior to an event will enhance cooperation, reduce anxiety, and acquaint producers with regulatory measures and operational activities used to eliminate disease threats. Building and exercising sfsps will benefit industry stakeholders, the membership of promotional organizations, owners of meat processing facilities, producers, transporters, dealers, veterinarians, and animal health regulatory officials.