About SAVEM

SAVEM is a Tier 2 volunteer Emergency Service working in all phases of Emergency Management: Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery, deploying to all hazards emergencies in South Australia. SAVEM is a registered Charity and has Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status.

SAVEM’s Response mission is to assess, triage, treat, shelter and return to owners, habitat or suitable long-term care, animals of all species, and assist animal owners and guardians as required.

SAVEM’s role in Prevention and Preparedness is outreach, information and education for at-risk communities, for the purpose of building resilience and disaster risk reduction.

In Recovery, SAVEM facilitates community resilience with supporting actions within impacted communities. Field experience is that SAVEM is often the only agency visibly remaining on an incident ground in the transition between response and recovery.

In response to an Emergency incident where SAVEM’s veterinary expertise is required, SAVEM is Activated under State arrangements, as described in the State Emergency Management Plan (SEMP).  After briefings and clearance by the Control Agency (such as the SA Country Fire Service for bushfire) SAVEM is deployed into the incident ground according to the terms and conditions required by the Control Agency. We collaborate with other similarly accredited agencies, such as the RSPCA, to respond to animal welfare issues in-field.

Depending on the size of an incident, our response can include deployment of SAVEM’s Mobile Care Centre and/or Field Hospitals. SAVEM Command ultimately links back to the State Emergency Centre in Adelaide from which Tier 1 emergency services operate.

 

What we can do

  • Notwithstanding the priority of human safety, SAVEM’s core business is a veterinary focus on animal welfare in emergencies.
  • SAVEM actively seeks to improve the wellbeing of animal owners and affected communities during and after an emergency by assisting owners with their animals’ needs, and facilitating links to Recovery services.
  • SAVEM Operations teams will work to retrieve, triage, treat, shelter and return animals to their owners. Arrangements will be made for animals needing longer term veterinary treatment or rehabilitation; animals that are unidentified or animals whose owners cannot be identified or located.
  • SAVEM Planning teams will collate information from the field and plan to be one step ahead to meet the needs of field Operations teams.
  • SAVEM Logistics teams will resource the needs of the operation – in readiness for deployment and during the response once the presence of Tier 2 responders is permitted by the Control Agency.
  • SAVEM’s volunteer veterinarians and veterinary nurses include practitioners with specialised skills to treat companion and assistance animals, wildlife, horses and livestock.

 

What we can’t do

  • We cannot go into an emergency area BEFORE permission is given by the Control Agency
  • We cannot provide an evacuation service for pets and other animals – it is the responsibility of animal owners to include their pets and other animals in their emergency plan

 

SAVEM’s processes

SAVEM’s processes are aligned with:

  • The One Health, One Welfare concept
  • The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030
  • The National Strategy for Disaster Resilience
    South Australia’s Disaster Resilience Strategy 2019-2024
  • People at Risk in Emergencies Framework for South Australia
  • Animals in Emergencies Framework
  • Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) Planning for Animals Handbook  

SAVEM trains to systems commonly used in and understood by the Emergency Management sector in Australia. We train to the Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System™, AIIMS™, and use a PPRR (Prevention Preparedness Response Recovery) model of Emergency Management.

 

Funding

SAVEM Inc. is a 100% volunteer organisation. We do not have full-time or part-time staff. All functions are filled by volunteers, and all funding is obtained from Government grants, private philanthropic donors, generous service providers and donations from members of the public.

Grants from the Natural Disaster Resilience Program (the NDRP), a joint Federal and State program administered by the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission (SAFECOM), have enabled most of our core resources. The SAVEM Mobile Care Centre is funded by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Additionally, we have been fortunate to receive philanthropic contributions for specific projects, and over the last decade we have found that public donations are offered especially during emergency events.

All donations go directly to fund SAVEM PPRR actions to assist affected animals. We publicly acknowledge these including by permanent signage on the plant and equipment these monies secure, and acknowleded on the SAVEM Sponsors page.