An animal disease emergency, such as an outbreak of a transboundary animal disease (TAD), can have serious socio-economic consequences which, at their extreme, may affect the national economy. Planning for emergency disease eradication or control programmes cannot be left until a disease outbreak has occurred. Preparedness planning, including the development and approval of contingency plans for identified high-threat diseases, enables animal health services to be far better technically equipped to cope with a disease emergency. The aim of this manual is to set out in a systematic way the elements required to achieve preparedness for any emergency disease in animals. In particular, but not exclusively, this manual focuses on the control of transboundary animal diseases (TADs). Some of these principles may also be helpful in preparing for food safety, zoonotic and even non-infectious disease emergencies.