How to Handle And Transport Non-Ambulatory Animals

If a non-ambulatory animal has to be transported it should be placed in the rear compartment of a double-deck trailer near the door or transported in a single deck vehicle. The non-ambulatory animal should be loaded onto the vehicle without being dragged. The best method would be a purpose-built truck with a powered lifting tailgate to raise the animal to truck level. Lifting tailgates which would lift the animal on a level platform are commercially available for use on delivery trucks. Another alternative would be a forklift equipped with a metal platform. The use of bare forklift forms on a wooden pallet is not acceptable. Both of these devices are too narrow to support the animal. Dropping a non-ambulatory animal off the back of a truck to ground level is forbidden.