BARTA’s Large Animal Rescue Accredited Instructor course will equip delegates with the underpinning knowledge and resources to deliver and assess training in standard rescue techniques required of a Large Animal Rescue Team, within their organisation.

Upon successful completion, delegates will have the ability to implement initial acquisition and maintenance of skills training in manual and mechanical rescue methodology and demonstrate how to apply these techniques within a range of environments. 

In line with BARTA’s goal to achieve standardisation across fire and rescue services, Accredited Instructors will access resources to teach BARTA’s Large Animal Rescue Course in their own service. These central resources will be regularly updated.

Key areas of learning include:

  • Hazard identification – Managing animal and environmental risks
  • 6 R’s of animal intervention
  • Equipment familiarisation, operational advantages/disadvantages and maintenance
  • Large animal anatomy and rationale for rescue technique choice
  • Operational considerations for the casualty centred rescue
  • Implementation of team roles and underpinning knowledge
  • Safe systems of work, organisation of equipment and relationship with hazard zones
  • Manual Stropping Techniques; restricted and unrestricted space methodology
  • Rationale and techniques for improvised strop introduction
  • Options for high risk intervention techniques where persons are trapped with a large animal
  • Philosophy of lifting; advantages and disadvantages of lifting devices
  • Mechanical Lifting techniques; rescue and medical suspension
  • Considerations for rescues from; transportation; structures; entanglement; unstable ground

Re-qualification Criteria:

To maintain an instructor qualification and have continued access to BARTA instructional resources, accredited instructors must complete: 

  1. Minimum of 2 internal training sessions per year (Initial acquisition or maintenance of skills)
  2. Successfully complete a 1 day BARTA Re-Qualification / standardisation course within 2 years

Initial Acquisition Courses

Duration: 5 days

Location: BARTA Training Facility, Buckinghamshire UK

Eligibility:

  1. Operational or training team members competent in role at Responder and/or Team Leader level
  2. Candidates must be qualified to provide training within their organisation and have good working knowledge of; Lesson plans, risk assessment, exercise planning, briefing and debriefing

Available dates:

  • 13th – 17th April 2026
  • 12th – 16th October 2026

Re-qualification Days

Duration: 1 day

Location: BARTA Training Facility, Buckinghamshire UK

Eligibility:

  • Current instructors fulfilling the prerequisite for re-requalification

Available Dates:

  • 19th November 2025
  • 11th February 2026
  • 23rd September 2026
  • 11th November 2026
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