APHIS Factsheet

Wildlife Services August 2008

APHIS Releases 

Wildlife Services’ 

Safety Review 

On August 4, 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS) released a report entitled, “Wildlife Services 

Program Safety Review: Evaluation of Current Safety 

Program and Identifi cation of Safety Improvements.” 

The review, conducted by subject-matter experts 

external to APHIS, looked at nine targeted areas 

within the agency’s Wildlife Services (WS) program. 

They are: aviation, explosives and pyrotechnics, 

fi rearms, hazardous materials, immobilization and 

euthanasia, pesticides, vehicles, watercraft, and 

zoonotic diseases. 

 Overall, the year-long evaluation concluded that 

the program’s current safety procedures are effective 

in protecting the health of its employees and that WS 

has a successful safety record given the nature of the 

work performed by its employees. 

Purpose of the Safety Review

Like many agencies whose mission includes public 

safety, WS’ work involves certain activities with inherent risks. In response to an increase in on-the-job 

accidents in 2005 through 2007, WS officials decided 

to initiate a comprehensive safety review. WS officials initiated the review to ensure that the program is 

providing the safest possible working environment for 

its employees while still enabling them to complete the 

program’s mission. 

 The review focused on issues of employee safety 

and was not designed to assess the appropriateness 

or effectiveness of the program’s wildlife damage 

management activities. To encourage employees to 

interact fully with the review teams and ensure transparency and the subsequent validity of the review 

teams’ recommendations, employees knew that no 

punitive steps would be taken if safety violations were 

observed during the review. 

Review Teams

Nine teams were used to complete the overall review; 

each team was tasked with reviewing one of the 

selected safety areas. Five of the nine reviews were 

conducted by or contracted through government 

agencies. Three were conducted by nonprofi t 

organizations, and one was conducted by a private 

company. Among other things, each team reviewed 

APHIS and WS directives, evaluated the program’s 

existing safety program and training courses, and 

conducted on-site visits. Additionally, the teams each 

produced a fi nal report with recommendations for 

improvements. More detailed information regarding 

each review team can be found in the overall safety 

review, which is posted online at 

www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage.

Summary Findings and Next Steps

Overall, the report indicates that WS’ existing safety 

procedures are effective in protecting the health of its 

employees. However, reviewers also found that as 

the program works to address difficult wildlife damage 

issues, it faces ongoing and equally complex safety 

challenges. As a result, the safety review includes a 

variety of recommendations. 

 

WS Program Area Reviewed Reviewing Organization

Aviation Interagency Committee of 

Aviation Safety

Explosives and 

Pyrotechnics

The Institute of Makers of 

Explosives

Firearms National Security Academy

Hazardous Materials 

(laboratory/manufacturing 

chemical/biological)

Century Environmental 

(subcontracted through 

Federal Occupational Health)

Immobilization and 

Euthanasia Drugs

Global Wildlife Resources 

(subcontracted through 

The Berryman Institute) 

Pesticides EnviroHygiene LLC 

(subcontracted through 

Federal Occupational Health) 

Vehicles Tidewater Inc 

(subcontracted through 

Federal Occupational Health)

Watercraft Maryland Department of 

Natural Resources Police

Zoonotic Diseases The Berryman Institute
United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, 

national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital 

status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, 

genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part 

of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance 

program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons 

with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) 

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice 

and TDD). To fi le a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, 

Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. , 

Washington , D.C. 20250–9410 , or call (800) 795–3272 (voice) or 

(202) 720–6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and 

employer. 

 WS has already implemented several recommendations from the report, including selecting an experienced aviator as the program’s national aviation coordinator and obtaining the Gold Standard Certifi cation 

for aviation safety. This certifi cation—issued by the 

Interagency Committee on Aviation Safety—verifi es 

that APHIS meets or exceeds Federal Management 

Regulation standards and is committed to aviation 

safety. 

 The implementation of other recommendations 

is well underway, including the preparation of comprehensive directives concerning watercraft use and 

zoonotic diseases. WS’ Safety and Health Council, 

a committee of WS employees charged with advising management on safety and health issues, will be 

responsible for implementing these recommendations. 

Other WS committees are revising existing directives 

for other program areas as well. 

 Additionally, WS is developing a plan for replacing 

the training currently provided to employees at offices 

in each State with a training program to be offered 

through a comprehensive training institute using a 

standardized curriculum.

 For the safety review’s additional and more complex recommendations—as well as those that may 

require funding—WS is establishing implementation 

priorities. Among these additional recommendations 

are the implementation of computerized tracking 

systems for training and materials and the purchase of 

new equipment, such as personal locator devices for 

employees working in remote locations. 

 As a general safety caution, the safety review also 

encourages WS to remain aware of broader issues 

and behaviors that can negatively impact employee 

safety. For example, the review noted the natural 

tendency for some to become complacent to safety 

issues when completing commonly performed tasks. 

Specifi cally, the review mentions several tasks such 

as operating motor vehicles, handling fi rearms, and 

taking proper precautions concerning zoonotic 

diseases. WS will continue to monitor and address 

these issues by implementing the safety review’s 

recommendations to improve the use of existing safety 

awards programs, maintain consistent discipline, and 

to uniformly post safety messages.

 The desire to accomplish the WS mission as 

safely as possible was prevalent among all WS 

personnel interviewed during the course of completing the review. WS plans to use this desire and the 

review’s recommendations to further build upon what 

the safety review found to be a strong program safety

record.

Existing Safety Program 

The WS safety program is comprised of a National 

Wildlife Services Safety and Health Council, safety 

officers within various special emphasis programs, and 

collateral duty safety officers at State and regional levels. WS created safety committees and protocols for 

specifi c areas that have been successful and worked 

well in some programs and States. Among these program committees are the explosives safety, fi rearms, 

and immobilization and euthanasia committees.

 Further supported by the agency’s employee 

safety and health infrastructure, WS has developed 

a functional safety system around the APHIS model, 

which is based on Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA) standards. 

 WS has completed 12 separate safety reviews 

over the last 14 years and implemented several 

improvements to ensure its employees’ welfare. 

Among them, in 1986 WS developed policy and procedural guidance for fi eld operations and safety training 

programs in consultation with private explosive engineering consultants. Tools from the WS explosives 

program, such as the “Quick Card” pyrotechnic safety 

guide, have been adopted as industry standards and 

are distributed by the OSHA and pyrotechnics dealers. 

 The 1998 review of the aviation program brought 

about the development of a state-of-the-art Aviation 

and Training Operations Center (ATOC) in Utah with 

courses and equipment specifi cally designed for WS 

pilots, fl ight crew, and ground crew. 

Additional Information

For more information about WS or to view the full 

safety review, visit 

www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage.