Sadly, animals die and when they do, especially when the reasons of the dead animal cannot be explained, then it is a requirement for the authorities to undertake the necessary testing to understand why, and more importantly is it the start of an epidemic? Or was it because of criminal activity?
Transporting of deceased birds and animals is, as you would assume, requires specialist knowledge and the right equipment and this often falls under the umbrella of Dangerous Goods (ADR), especially those requirements governing Infectious Substances.
Depending on the initial suspicions of the veterinary expert, it may be a likely Category A infectious substance which would contain pathogens capable of threatening human life.
Such a sample would require not only specialist packaging, but specialist transport carried out by a vocationally trained driver.
At Topspeed, we have our own Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor Officer and many of our employed drivers are have completed the specialist ADR vocational training.
We are one of a select band of couriers listed as an approved supplier for Infectious Substances on the Government Procurement Framework and work with agencies such as DEFRA and Public Health England that are responsible for the health and wellbeing for people and livestock throughout the UK.
So, the next time you hear on the news about a suspected case of Avian Flu, then there is a good chance that we have been involved with the transportation of the samples to be tested.