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Elements and Performance Criteria

  1. Identify and assist with animal care needs
  2. Monitor health and nutrition requirements for young animals

Required Skills

Required skills

employ safe humane and environmentally responsible organisational systems and procedures when handling and working with young animals

identify signs and symptoms of disease and ill thrift in young animals

implement facility policies and procedures

maintain the highest standards of hygiene and infection control at all times to reduce the risk of infection and crossinfection

maintain records

monitor animal health and condition and recognise abnormalities

literacy skills to read and follow facility policies and procedures including OHS and waste management follow treatment instructions record accurately and legibly information collected and select and apply procedures to a range of defined tasks

oral communication skillslanguage to fulfil the job role as specified by the facility including questioning techniques active listening asking for clarification from supervisors and consulting with supervisors

numeracy skills to estimate calculate and record routine workplace measures

interpersonal skills to work with others and relate to people from a range of cultural social and religious backgrounds and with a range of physical and mental abilities

problemsolving skills to use available resources and prioritise daily tasks

use safe manual handling techniques andor equipment

use safe waste handling and disposal procedures

Required knowledge

anatomy structure and physiology features of the relevant animal groups related to caring for young animals

concepts of imprinting and socialisation

feeding and husbandry requirements for artificially raised animals

formula types for common species

housing requirements for mother and young where relevant

normal and abnormal animal behaviour

prerelease activities

range of risks to animals being artificially fed

release strategies

relevant facility policies and procedures including OHS animal welfare ethics hygiene standards and other industry guidelines

relevant federal and state or territory legislation and codes of practice

safe animal handling techniques and procedures

safe work practices

weaning management

workplace hygiene standards disinfectants cleaning agents cleaning techniques and cleaning equipment and materials

Evidence Required

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

Overview of assessment

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

The evidence required to demonstrate competence 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 Assessors should ensure that candidates can

provide appropriate environments and care programs to meet the needs of a range of young animals

assist in artificially rearing animals

monitor the health and nutrition of young animals to ensure their overall growth and wellbeing

prepare animals for release into a captive or natural habitat environment

The skills and knowledge required to care for young animals must be transferable to a range of work environments and contexts and include the ability to deal with unplanned events

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment of this unit is to be practical in nature and will be most appropriately assessed in a captive animal workplace

There must be access in this situation to a range of young animals as well as the appropriate equipment andor resources to enable one to demonstrate competence

Method of assessment

To ensure consistency in ones performance competency should be demonstrated to industry defined standards on more than one occasion over a period of time in order to cover a variety of circumstances and where possible over a number of assessment activities

The assessment strategy must include practical skills assessment Suggested strategies for this unit are

written andor oral assessment of candidates required knowledge

observed documented and firsthand testimonial evidence of candidates application of practical tasks

simulation exercises that reproduce normal work conditions

thirdparty evidence

workplace documentation

portfolio

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 eg literacy and numeracy demands and the needs of particular target groups eg 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.

Suitable environments may include:

appropriate level of barrier nursing

consideration of appropriate housing for the mother

reduced noise or light

screening or privacy from the public

separation of the young from other animals or mate

simulated natural habitats.

OHS risks when working with animals may include:

animal bites, envenomation, kicks, scratches and crush injuries

biological hazardous waste and sharps disposal

handling of chemicals and medicines

inhalation of aerosol particles

intraocular contamination

manual handling, including carrying, lifting and shifting

needle pricks and cuts from other sharps

release of infective agents (animal and human)

slippery or uneven work surfaces

zoonoses.

Care program may include:

appropriate environment

nutritional requirements

teaching animals to catch their own food

providing animals with materials to create their own living environment

providing socialisation opportunities with other animals.

Controlled environment may include:

brooders

food dictated by breeding and growth patterns

heat pads

hospital cages

humidicribs

incubators

invertebrate breeding cages.

Risks to animals during artificial feeding may include:

acquisition of aberrant behaviours

aspiration

imprinting

infection

lack of socialisation

pneumonia.

Growth and general condition monitoring may include:

appearance of the body or coat

body measurements

monitoring weight

temperature.

Weaning may involve:

changing the diet

introducing alternative feeding strategies

weaning from human contact.

Records may include:

those required by legislation and facility policies and procedures:

animal identification and health records

facility breeding program records, if applicable

yearly returns to relevant state or territory bodies detailing the survival of all wildlife held, if required.