Document Animals Ahead of Hurricane Beryl – RADA

As part of preparations for Hurricane Beryl, livestock owners are being advised to properly document their animals through identification, tagging and written records.

Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Livestock Specialist, Maxine Brown, said farmers should double check to ensure their farm records are up-to-date.

“Farmers should secure those records so that they do not get lost or damaged, should anything happen during the hurricane. If you don’t have any records, you can take some pictures of the animals because animals do get separated from the farm and you want to be able to identify them at some point,” she advised.

Ms. Brown told JIS News that livestock owners should have fully equipped first aid kits for their animals.

“Sometimes things happen where they may run and bump into each other and get scratches and scrapes; sometimes flying objects can also cause problems for them. So you want, as quickly as possible, to mend any kind of basic wound or anything like that. So, you want to make sure you have a first aid kit,” she said.

Feed storage is also crucial during this time. Farmers are being advised to have food and water stores that can last for a minimum one week.

“Make sure you’re protecting the feed from flooding. You don’t want water to get into it because, then, you can have mould growth in the seed. You also want to have fresh water put up for your animals, because water can get contaminated… and cause damage to your animals,” Ms. Brown pointed out.

Small animals, such as goats, should be taken to higher ground, especially if the farm is situated in low lying or flood prone areas.

“You don’t want to suffer any losses through drowning animals, because persons tend to tie their animals. Do not tie them near any kind of river. In fact, we would prefer if you don’t tie the animals because it gives them at least an opportunity to save themselves, because when you tie them, they’re restricted to the area that they are in,” she said.

Livestock owners can contact the nearest RADA Parish Office for personalised assistance with disaster preparations for their animals.