Rural Recovery Facts

February 2009

1. Livestock Fire Plans

• The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) says all livestock (including sheep, cattle and horses) and pets should be included when developing and activating fire plans.
• A livestock fire plan can minimise the risk to livestock and pets, and help your financial and emotional well being.
• It is essential to have a safe, workable plan to protect your livestock that canbe implemented quickly when fire threatens.
• Never assume that your property is free from the risk of bushfire.

• Decisions on when to enact the fire plan will be based on weather, or the immediate threat of fire in your area.
• Listen to the radio and observe your own environment to decide when to put your plan into action.
• When fire threatens move stock to designated low risk areas where there is less chance of injury. Low risk areas include:

• ploughed paddocks, areas cultivated and kept free of combustible vegetation;
• bared out paddocks, provided they are well defended by fire breaks;
• irrigated paddocks or paddocks containing green summer crops (green feed does not burn easily); or
• stock yards with bare or ploughed surrounds, which can be wet in advance.

• If you do not have an appropriate low risk area it may be an option to open internal gates to give stock the ability to move away from the path of the fire.
• Do not open gates onto roadways, as livestock on roads creates a hazard for road vehicles.
• The Country Fire Authority (CFA) recommends that you do not lock gates and that you switch off electric fencing.
• Horses should not be locked up in stables. All equipment including rugs, halters and flyveils should be removed as plastic may melt and buckles heat up. Place the horse in the largest available area to enable them to run as free as possible.
• If possible transport stock away from the potential fire front.

• Visiting properties affected by fires and assessing injured livestock and losses to farm assets such as buildings and fences, and identifying urgent needs like fodder and water for surviving livestock and treatment of injured livestock.
  
  
  • These services begin as soon as clearance is provided by the CFA or the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) after the fire has passed. For immediate rural recovery assistance contact the DPI Customer Service Centre on 136 186.
    
    
  • When contacting people affected by an emergency, DPI staff are sensitive to the stressful nature of the situation and personal information is protected in accordance with the principles of the Information Privacy Act 2000.
    
    
• Assistance and advice to individual farmers in relation to animal welfare, also including the humane destruction and disposal of seriously injured livestock. DPI provides advice to councils, via Municipal Emergency Control Centres, on the disposal of dead or maimed stock.
  
  
• Technical advice on matters such as pasture re-establishment; weed and pest control; soil erosion control and stock management.
  
  
• Support with applications for assistance where applicable and advice on sourcing help, such as stress management and financial counselling.
  
  
• Working with other government agencies, such as the Department of Human Services, to assist in meeting the wider social needs of farming families during the recovery phase.
  
  
• Advice to other organisations such as the Victorian Farmers Federation on where distribution of donated fodder is needed most.

• DPI staff are available to assist with the distressing task of assessing burnt livestock and have experience in humanely destroying stock that have no chance of recovery.

• The urgent, initial need is to destroy burnt livestock that are down and unable to rise. These stock can be shot in the paddock if it is safe to do so. Burnt stock that are able to walk must be contained for assessment. It is inefficient and dangerous to try and assess and shoot mobile stock in a paddock without appropriate yards or equipment.

• Burnt animals will need to be individually assessed thoroughly, as damage may be subtle - singed wool or hair is not always a good indicator of the severity of an animal’s burns. Livestock with more than 15% of their body surface burnt are unlikely to survive even with intensive treatment and nursing.

• When inspecting hooves, if the coronary band (where the skin joins the hoof) is cracked and is leaking fluid, this is an indication that the hoof may fall off within the next few days – stock without hooves will not survive and need to be destroyed.

• Downers (unable to get up)
• Extensive burns
• Swollen limbs
• Difficulty in breathing
• Stock with extensive burns to the legs below the knee and hock with swelling and a dry leathery appearance of the skin have a poor prognosis for survival.

• Sheep with minor burns to the non-woolled areas or cattle with minor burns can be re-assessed in one to three days. Hospital mobs should have good access to water, feed and shade. Stock should be destroyed if legs become swollen, hooves begin to separate from the underlying tissues of the foot, or if they are not able to eat. They should also be destroyed if they cannot stand up or lie down.

• Salvage slaughter of burnt stock is not an option if they have to travel long distances to an abattoir or if they have burns that would cause pain during transportation and possible condemnation at abattoirs.

• Animals without apparent damage should be reassessed within five to seven days as burns to the axilla (armpit) and inguinal (groin) areas become more apparent.

• DPI staff aim to conduct an assessment of the burnt area as soon as it is safe to do so. If your farm has been affected and you have not been visited by DPI staff, they can be directed to your farm by phoning the Customer Service Centre on 136 186 or contacting your local DPI Rural Recovery Incident Management Team.