Animal husbandry services

Tender description

The Army Recruiting and Training Division (ARTD) are currently seeking to identify more effective ways of working throughout the Division. One proposed initiative relates to the future delivery model of the Defence Animal Centre (DAC), based in Melton Mowbray. The DAC delivers trained Military Working Animals and personnel to meet Defence needs. The DAC delivers around 170 trained dogs as well as providing husbandry and veterinary care to these dogs and an estimated horses each year. The DAC currently employs 62 Animal Husbandry staff, and approximately 22 Administrative Support staff. There is also a small Farriery team that provides training to Army Farriers as well as Farriery services to horses stabled at Melton Mowbray. As part of the Authority's options analysis it is seeking the views of industry through this limited ‘soft market test’ to establish whether there is an industry appetite to be involved in the delivery of the following services provided by the DAC: — Animal Husbandry — Administrative Support — Farriery Services and Instruction — Dog Instruction — to meet military requirements for: Explosives, C-IED and Armoury detection; Protection — Dog Handler Training — Veterinary Services for both Military Working Dogs and Horses.