Zoos & Aquariums • Contingency Planning

Make AWA contingency planning work in a tech-dependent facility.

The USDA Animal Welfare Act Contingency Plan Rule is about one thing: proving animal care continues when normal operations don’t. AnzenSage helps you connect the plan to real-world dependencies—life-support systems, building controls, vendors, and cyber-physical failure modes—without turning your team into an IT department.

Animal welfare continuity Operational readiness Cyber-physical scenarios Training that sticks

What the rule is asking you to prove

You have a written plan, your people know their roles, and you can maintain animal care during disruptions (power, HVAC, water, staffing, weather… and yes, system outages).

Where most plans quietly fail

Plans assume mechanical breakdown + perfect staffing. Real life includes locked remote access, vendor delays, visibility loss, and OT systems that don’t fail politely.

What we do differently

We map dependencies → failure modes → practical response steps so your contingency plan is actionable, trainable, and reviewable—without extra drama.

How AnzenSage supports your plan

Pick what you need. These can stand alone or be combined into a lightweight, facility-friendly program that supports training and annual review.

AWA Contingency Plan Readiness Review

Gap check your current plan against real operational dependencies and likely disruption scenarios.

Best for: Ops leadership, safety/security, animal care leadership
Life-Support Systems Dependency Map

Document what relies on what (power, HVAC, water, controls, sensors, vendors)—and where single points of failure live.

Best for: Facilities/engineering + animal systems owners
Cyber-Physical Scenario Workshop

Tabletop exercises tailored to your environment: loss of visibility, loss of control, vendor delays, safe manual fallback.

Best for: Cross-functional teams (no IT expertise required)
Training Refresh for Non-IT Staff

Role-based, plain-language training aligned to your plan so responsibilities are understood and repeatable.

Best for: Animal care teams, supervisors, on-call leads
Annual Review & Update Support

Lightweight annual refresh: update scenarios, validate contacts/vendors, confirm roles, and produce review documentation.

Best for: Facilities that want “done and documented”

A simple way to start

1

Identify the real dependencies

We map the systems that keep animals safe—and what happens when they fail or become unavailable.

2

Turn risks into response steps

We translate “something went wrong” into clear roles, actions, and fallback procedures.

3

Train, document, review

We support training and annual review so your plan is usable, not just printable.

Contingency planning isn’t a binder. It’s a promise: animal care holds steady even when systems don’t. If your plan doesn’t account for modern tech dependencies, we should talk.

Start a conversation

Disclaimer: AnzenSage provides operational risk, planning, and cyber-physical preparedness support. This content is not legal advice and does not guarantee regulatory compliance.