Unit of competency details

Unit descriptor 

This unit relates to the competencies required to provide race meeting veterinary advice to stewards on the health, welfare and fitness to race greyhounds or horses. It requires knowledge of relevant rules of racing, the ability to prepare for race meetings, make pre and post-race assessments of greyhounds or horses, provide advice to stewards, provide emergency care to animals and should it be required, euthanase animals and ensure proper arrangements are made for the disposal of the deceased animal.

This unit has restricted access to veterinarians licensed to practise veterinary medicine through relevant state registration and who have evidence of experience in the treatment and management of greyhounds for greyhound race meetings or horses for harness and thoroughbred race meetings.

This unit of competency operates in work environments of racing stables, paddocks, yards, racecourses and public areas.

Licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements may apply to this unit. Check with your State Principal Racing Authority for current license or registration requirements.

Application of the unit 

This unit of competency supports veterinarians who are licensed to practise veterinary medicine through relevant state registration and are required to effectively perform required veterinarian duties at race meetings.

Competencies attained in this unit apply to the greyhound or harness or thoroughbred code of the industry. Consequently when performance criteria are applied they will relate to the greyhound code or the harness code or the thoroughbred code, and statements of attainment for this unit will reflect this distinction.

Prerequisite units 

Employability skills 

This unit contains employability skills.

Elements describe the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the required skills and knowledge section and the range statement. Assessment of performance is to be consistent with the evidence guide.

ELEMENT 

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 

Prepare for race meeting.

1. Date, times and duties are confirmed with race club.

2. Billing system is confirmed.

3. Rules of racing  are reviewed.

4. Supplies of first aid and emergency medications and equipment are prepared.

5. Stewards are advised of veterinarian's presence on course.

Monitor greyhounds or horses during race meetings.

6. Pre-race assessment of greyhounds or horses is carried out at the request of stewards and/or trainer or after observation of signs of distress ,illness ,injury or abnormal behaviour  .

7. Pre and post-race blood and/or other samples are collected  as directed by stewards.

8. Advice on the impact of inclement weather conditions  on the health, welfare and management of greyhounds or horses is provided to stewards and/or trainers.

9. Race and post -race activities  are observed and greyhounds or horses of concern are examined, treated if required and results reported to stewards.

Provide emergency care to greyhounds or horses.

10. Extent of injuries or illness of greyhound or horse is assessed and reported to stewards.

11. Restraints  are applied to prevent further injury to greyhound or horse if required.

12. First aid is administered.

13. Safety of staff and greyhound or horse is reviewed.

14. Assistance from racecourse staff is coordinated to remove greyhound or horse from the scene if possible.

15. Prognosis is determined and reported to stewards and connections of greyhound or horse.

16. Greyhound or horse is referred for further treatment if required.

17. Suspected notifiable disease  outbreak is reported to stewards and Animal Health Australia.

Comply with euthanasia procedures.

18. Reasons for decision to euthanase greyhound or horse are reported to stewards and connections of the animal.

19. Greyhound or horse is moved to private location if possible or area screened from public view.

20. Animal's identification  is verified and recorded.

21. Euthanasia method is selected and administered with consideration to staff safety, greyhound or horse welfare and the rules of racing.

22. Death of greyhound or horse is confirmed.

23. Samples are taken for testing or post-mortem performed.

24. Arrangements are coordinated with stewards, race club staff and greyhound or horse connections for removal of deceased animal  .

25. Written report on incident, including reasons for decision to euthanase and outcomes of post-mortem tests, is provided to stewards.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE 

This section describes the skills and knowledge required for this unit.

Required skills 

• applying safe handling and work practices when dealing with greyhounds or horses
• assessing animal health and illness or injury status
• communicating with stewards, racing officials, licensed and registered personnel and others using assertive communication techniques to gather, interpret and relay information related to race day veterinarian duties
• completing duties in accordance with safe operating procedures and nominated time frame
• demonstrating common greyhound or horse handling skills
• identifying and reporting swabbing irregularities
• identifying animal by colour, brand, sex, and leg and face markings
• judging situations and taking appropriate action to prevent problems arising or to overcome problems before they develop further
• maintaining racing code requirements for confidentiality
• participating safely in sample collection processes
• providing prompt and succinct information to stewards and others as required
• reading and interpreting workplace documentation and rules of racing
• relating to people from a range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and with varying physical and mental abilities
• responding quickly to requests from stewards or other racing officials
• teamwork skills to ensure completion of job tasks
• written communication skills to complete workplace documentation and reports.

Required knowledge 

• communication procedures within the race meeting environment and wider racing industry
• emergency animal care
• euthanasia practices and animal removal processes
• greyhound or horse behaviour, senses and communication traits
• industry terminology related to race meeting procedures
• impacts on animals of adverse or extreme weather conditions
• hazard identification and risk management
• medications and treatments for injured or unhealthy animals
• protocols and procedures for communicating with stewards, and licensed and other racing industry personnel
• racing industry animal welfare requirements
• racing industry safety requirements, including safe operating procedures
• reporting requirements for irregularities and problems, including difficulties in obtaining samples
• sample collection standard operating procedures
• signs of animal health, ill health, injury and diseases
• swabbing protocols and associated rules of racing.

EVIDENCE GUIDE 

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit 

The evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit must be relevant to workplace operations and satisfy all of the requirements of the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge and the range statement of this unit and include evidence of the following:

• knowledge of the requirements, procedures and instructions that are to apply performing the duties of veterinarian at race meetings or trials
• implementation of procedures and timely techniques for the safe, effective and efficient application of veterinarian duties
• working with others to undertake and complete procedures that meet required outcomes.

Evidence should be collected over a period of time in a range of workplace-relevant contexts and include dealings with an appropriate range of situations.

Context of , and specific resources for assessment 

Competency must be assessed in a racing workplace that provides access to the required resources. Assessment is to occur under standard and authorised work practices, safety requirements and environmental constraints. It is to comply with relevant regulatory requirements or Australian Standards requirements.

Assessment of the practical components of this unit will be by observation of relevant skills.

The following resources must be available:

• a range of greyhounds, and harness or thoroughbred horses
• materials and equipment relevant to assessing candidate's ability to perform veterinarian duties at race meetings or trials
• race meetings and related facilities, including swabbing
• work instructions and related documentation.

Method of assessment 

Assessment methods must satisfy the endorsed Assessment Guidelines of the Racing Training Package.

The suggested strategies for the assessment of this unit are:

• written and/or oral assessment of candidate's required knowledge
• observed, documented and firsthand testimonial evidence of candidate's application of practical tasks.

Evidence is required to be demonstrated over a period of time, therefore where performance is not directly observed any evidence should be authenticated by supervisors or other appropriate persons.

This unit may be assessed in a holistic way with other units of competency relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role.

Guidance information for assessment 

Assessment methods should reflect workplace demands (e.g. literacy and numeracy demands) and the needs of particular target groups (e.g. people with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people with a language background other than English, youth and people from low socioeconomic backgrounds).

RANGE STATEMENT 

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Rules of racing  cover:

• constitutional
• interpretation
• licensing
• local rules
• offences
• penalties
• race meetings
• registration
• stewards
• syndicates.

Signs of distress , illness , injury or abnormal behaviour  may include:

• greyhound or horse race meeting behaviour, including:

• attempting to bite
• becoming agitated and sweaty
• charging forward
• pulling back or sideways
• rearing
• turning in circles

• signs of unhealthy greyhounds or horses, include:

• discharge
• dull coat
• dull eyes
• elevated temperature
• listlessness
• skin disease
• swollen joints

• symptoms of injuries may include:

• abrasions
• cuts
• fractures
• heat in limbs
• lameness
• sprains
• strains.

Samples are collected  by:

• checking identification
• escorting animal and handler to swab area
• following chain of evidence protocols
• identifying greyhounds or horses to be swabbed
• preparing swab kit and swab area
• recording details
• securing swabs and swab area.

Practices observed when samples are collected  will include:

• adhering to racing industry animal welfare requirements
• following safe operating procedures
• handling of animals in enclosed spaces
• monitoring greyhound or horse behaviour
• using restraints.

Weather conditions  may include:

• altitude
• cold
• fog
• heat
• high humidity
• prevailing air pollution level, which may exacerbate climatic conditions
• wind and wind chill.

Race and post -race activities  observed may include:

• action in enclosure or mounting yard
• action or bleeding occurrence upon return to scale or catching pen
• action or performance during racing
• barrier loading (thoroughbred)
• warm-up or score-up (harness)
• stir-up or box loading (greyhound).

Restraints  may be:

• chemical
• physical.

Safety of staff and greyhound or horse  may include:

• adhering to responsibilities under OHS legislation and workplace practices
• adhering to responsibilities under national and state codes of practice; federal, state and territory legislation; and local government regulations covering animal welfare
• adhering to rules of racing and rules of the race venue
• considering variables that influence behaviour of greyhounds or horses, such as:

• fences and equipment
• other persons or animals
• vehicles
• wind and noise

• contributing to development of risk control measures
• following safe work practices
• following accident and injury procedures
• identifying and reporting unsafe work practices
• identifying emergency situations
• monitoring animal behaviour
• using approved and well-maintained gear
• wearing approved personal protective equipment.

Suspected notifiable diseases  include:

• African horse sickness
• anthrax
• contagious equine metritis
• equine flu
• hendra virus
• Japanese encephalitis
• rabies
• surra.

Identification  is verified by:

• identifying colours, brands, markings or gender
• viewing registration papers
• reading microchip information.

Arrangements for removal of deceased animal  will include:

• considering owner, trainer and other witnesses
• determining disposal area, which may include local waste management centre or other area agreed by stewards
• removal processes.

Unit Sector 

Greyhound, harness and thoroughbred racing codes

Co-requisite units 

Functional Area 

Racing common