General attributes: Essential skills and knowledge:

Page 5 of 96 An important aim of this activity was to ensure that any tasks intended to be completed by the AAV for the purposes of this research project W.LIV.0252 should not be considered to be additional or new activities when compared to routine job responsibilities for AAVs. The tasks should relate to activities that AAVs are already required to perform i.e. provide care for livestock and record morbidity and mortality and treatments. Any changes in responsibilities were more likely to be related to how such data and information might be recorded and used and how causes of death can be more accurately determined through post mortem procedures and collection of samples for examination by pathologists. Activities of particular interest to W.LIV.0252 included:  Conducting a thorough post mortem on most or all cattle mortalities throughout the voyage in keeping with the instructions provided in the Veterinarians Handbook produced under Objective 1 of the current project. It is expected that not all deaths will be subjected to a post mortem because of constraints over performing such procedures in certain locations such as near ports or land and in cases where it is not physically possible to perform a post mortem on all animals.  Collecting appropriate samples in keeping with the instructions provided by the veterinary handbook – see Objective 1 of the current project.  Arranging for the proper packaging and repatriation of samples in keeping with the instructions provided by the veterinary handbook – see Objective 1 of the current project.  Keeping a copy of all daily and end of voyage reports it was not possible to obtain copies of daily or end of voyage reports during this project because of concerns over release of sensitive information.  Collecting data and information on morbidity and mortality as defined in Objective 1 and 2 of this project.  Managing a veterinary kit during the project. Objective 3 involves the development of specifications for a kit to accompany voyages and provide equipment and sample collection containers to allow effective post mortem and sampling of sick and dead animals. At the end of the voyage the kit will need to be cleaned and assessed to determine what items need to be replaced.

1.4 Skills required

1.4.1 General attributes:

 Physically fit.  Good interpersonal skills.  Data managementrecord keepingreporting skills.  “Sea legs”.

1.4.2 Essential skills and knowledge:

 Awareness of the common syndromes, diseases and conditions that cause death in live export cattle including what they look like, what to look for and the theoretical risk factors predisposing to their occurrence.  Awareness of the safety and hygiene precautions required to prevent injury or infection with a zoonotic agent when handling, examining and sampling sick animals.  Age cattle by their teeth.  Make systematic and accurate individual animal within-group and group-level observations and comparisons of cattle.  Recognise and interpret abnormal clinical signs. Page 6 of 96  Recognise existing active risk factors operating on board that are predisposing to disease occurrence and death.  Systematically collect a history and conduct a necropsy.  Recognise, describe and interpret abnormal gross necropsy changes.  Know where to find a list of samples to collect during necropsies from cattle showing different symptoms.  Collect good quality representative samples according to the protocol and store the samples.  Provide a tentative diagnosis and differential diagnoses based on history, gross necropsy findings and presence of risk factors.  Satisfactorily complete a Necropsy Report.  Use and maintain a captive bolt gun.  Assess effective stunning and killing.  Remove a brain using the longitudinal craniotomy method.  Sharpen a knife using a stone and steel.  Use the various health indices available on board including food and water consumption, drug usage and hospital pen records to measure amount and impact of different diseases and conditions.  Understand the system for daily collection and pooling of observational data from stockpersons to form the basis for a description of animal health on a daily basis during voyages.  Accurately complete a Sick Cattle Sample Submission Form so that the information is usable by a laboratory diagnostician and contributes useful epidemiological data.  Accurately complete a Sick Cattle Epi Report that contributes useful epidemiological data.  Disinfect and package samples for the return voyage.

1.4.3 Experience: