Abstract

Livestock play a crucial part in people’s livelihoods throughout the world and when humanitarian emergencies arise, rapid assistance is needed to protect and rebuild the livestock assets of affected communities. The Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) are a set of international guidelines and standards for the design, implementation and assessment of livestock interventions to assist people affected by humanitarian crises. LEGS expands the commitment in the Sphere handbook – the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response – towards supporting livelihood assets, by presenting clear and practical options for supporting livestock during and following disasters.LEGS provides guidance on the identification of appropriate livestock responses, followed by detailed information on a number of interventions, namely: destocking, veterinary services, the provision of feed, the provision of water, livestock shelter and settlement, and restocking. Each technical chapter contains minimum standards, key indicators, and guidance notes, together with decision-making tools and a discussion of key cross-cutting issues.