Veterinary Emergency Response Team

The UF VETS Team provides emergency response locally for animal technical rescue emergencies, involving overturned livestock trailers, animals trapped in deep mud, and a variety of other emergencies involving animals in difficult and dangerous emergency situations. The team also provides disaster response on a larger scale for natural and man-made disasters that overwhelm local veterinary infrastructure. We have provided support during numerous hoarding cases, hurricanes, and other disasters since our inception in 2004. Our largest deployments include the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Hurricane Irma, and Hurricane Ian. The team is voluntary and able to be self-contained, providing mobile hospitals, tents, team housing, generators, food and medical supplies. Animal owners are never charged for our services for either local emergency response or disaster response missions. Your donations help us to keep our equipment in working order so that our volunteers have the tools to successfully complete our next mission request. For more information, please contact Brandi Phillips at brandikphillips@ufl.edu.