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Animal welfare
For sick or injured animals or livestock contact your local vet in the first instance. Contact your local council regarding lost and found pets. Call DAF to help find the owners of lost livestock on 13 25 23.
Severe weather patterns, including floods, cyclones and bushfires, can have serious impacts on Queensland homes and properties.
After human safety, the welfare of your animals should be your most important consideration in the event of a natural disaster.
All owners and carers have a duty of care to provide appropriate food, water, shelter and treatment for their animals.
There are many actions that you can take before a natural disaster to help ensure the welfare of your animals. There are also simple steps to follow when addressing the needs of animals during, and after, a natural disaster.
It's also important to note that the rules of the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) are sufficiently flexible during times of natural disasters so that cattle owners and producers have a number of options for dealing with displaced cattle.
This guide will help you protect the safety and welfare of your animals before, during and after a natural disaster in Queensland.
Caring for animals in natural disasters
There are some simple steps to follow when addressing the needs of animals in natural disasters:
- Make sure your animals have clean water and food.
- Be careful when handling animals, as they may be frightened or disorientated.
- Be aware of straying stock and wildlife, and be careful on the roads.
- Do not allow animals in extreme distress to suffer.
- Contact your local veterinarian regarding sick or injured animals, and contact the RSPCA or your local council regarding lost and found animals.
Food and water
The most important consideration in the short term is to ensure your pet or animal has access to suitable, good-quality water.
Food supplies could be in short supply and, with damage to roads, resupply into an area could be delayed.
Owners and carers of companion animals should ration any existing unspoilt feed until new feed can be accessed. You should first use suitable food items from the fridge, which could spoil due to interruptions in power supplies, and conserve any dry or tinned food.
If food supplies are low or have run out, contact your neighbours, any local animal shelters, businesses and industry organisations to arrange food supplies.
In the longer term, consider moving your pets or livestock to a friend or family member's property if necessary.
Animals found to be starving should not be allowed to suffer and should be fed, relocated or humanely killed as a last option. Contact your local vet for advice if this is required.
Disposing of animal carcasses
Contact your local council for assistance with animal carcass disposal following declared natural disasters.
Any deceased animals must be disposed of safely. Human health concerns, work health and safety precautions and environmental impacts must be considered.
Contacts
- RSPCA – phone 1300 852 188 or 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625)
- Department of Agriculture and Fisheries – phone 13 25 23
- Department of Environment, Science and Innovation – phone 1300 130 372 (wildlife)
Also consider...
- Find out about infectious animal disease issues after a flood.
- Learn about plant poisoning issues after a flood.
- Read about foot disease in animals after a flood.
- Learn about parasite problems after a flood.
- Find information on bringing animals home after a natural disaster.
- Read the Displaced and lost animals (PDF, 117KB) fact sheet for advice on caring for animals displaced during floods or heavy rain.
- Read the fact sheet Livestock diseases following floods (PDF, 198KB).
Moving cattle during and after a natural disaster
The rules of the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) are sufficiently flexible during times of natural disasters to provide cattle owners and producers with a number of options for dealing with displaced cattle.
Some situations have straightforward solutions in relation to NLIS tagging and database transfers and others may require approvals from biosecurity inspectors.
Because of the possibility of disease outbreaks in the aftermath of natural disasters, it is essential to be able to trace cattle.
Movement record requirements within Queensland
You must complete a movement record when moving stock within Queensland, including when cattle are:
Displaced to immediate neighbour
These cattle can be returned home as soon as practical whether NLIS tagged or not. A database transfer is not required.
Displaced further afield—tagged cattle
Tagged cattle can return to their home property. Scan once, then update the database with a 'to' and 'from' transfer for where they were found. Biosecurity Queensland offices in flood areas have scanners available to assist with this process.
Displaced further afield—un-tagged cattle
Owners should discuss the return of these cattle with an inspector to decide how best to identify and record their movements. Three options exist and owners may need to seek advice from their local inspector on the best option for their particular circumstance. Un-tagged cattle not returning to their home property must be tagged with a post-breeder (orange) tag for the property of consignment. The receiver is required to update the NLIS database.
Also consider...
- Find out about the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS).
- Learn more about moving cattle and buffalo.
- Read about moving livestock into Queensland.
- Learn more about livestock movement records.
Bringing animals home after a natural disaster
Livestock and pet owners should bring their animals home only when it is safe to do so. Consider the following issues before bringing animals home.
Debris
Thoroughly search the property to find out the extent and nature of the debris. Large amounts of household goods and waste may have been deposited during the disaster.
Before releasing any animals into an area, remove any potentially dangerous debris from the property that could injure your animals.
Accommodation and security
Make sure all accommodation is clean, dry and undamaged so you can house your animals safely. You will need to disinfect hard surfaces, such as concrete pads, walls and other surfaces, if they have come into contact with any floodwater.
Learn more about disinfecting animal living areas after a flood.
All areas designed to contain animals (e.g. fences and compounds) should be checked and repaired if damaged.
Noise and activity
Animals that have been affected by natural disasters may be traumatised and easily frightened. Where possible, return animals only after you have completed major cleaning and rubbish removal activities.
To settle animals back into their environment quickly, try to avoid the high activity and noise levels caused by generators, bulldozers and power washers. Also avoid having large numbers of unfamiliar people around the animals.
Food and water
Ensure that animals have access to suitable quality water. Keep animals away from any floodwater on the property. Additionally, do not allow animals to drink water that is stagnant and/or flood affected (including storage water that has been flood affected) as it could contain high levels of bacteria and other dangerous contaminants.
Animals must not have access to debris, as it could contain spoilt food or dead carcasses, which could be harmful if eaten.
Give the animals good-quality food or suitable pasture. You can use hydrated lime to disinfect grassed areas that have been inundated with contaminated water. Sprinkle the lime over the area, water in well and keep animals off the area for at least 7 days.
Shade
Many structures may have been damaged or destroyed during the floods. Animals returning to properties must have adequate shade to shelter from the weather.
Check the existing structures to ensure they are safe and secure. Also ensure that there is adequate shelter to accommodate the animals.
Pastures should have safe and secure sheltered areas provided by either constructed materials or trees sufficient to provide shelter for all the animals in the paddock.
Monitoring
Once you return your animals home, check them regularly to ensure they are settling in well. Initially, monitor them at least daily to ensure they are eating properly, have not sustained injuries from unobserved debris and are settling in.
Make sure you can adequately access the areas where animals have been released so you can monitor them regularly and easily feed them if required.
Also consider...
- Find out about infectious animal disease issues after a flood.
- Learn about plant poisoning issues after a flood.
- Find out about foot disease in animals after a flood.
Disinfecting animal living areas after flood damage
Before giving your animals access to any kennels or living areas, properly disinfect the area to protect your animals from potential sources of contamination.
If floodwater has inundated the living area, try to keep animals away until you can effectively clean it because it may have high levels of contamination due to floodwater mixing with sewage and other material.
Do not allow your animals to drink any remaining floodwater, or eat any carcasses or debris lying on the ground. If necessary, fence off an area that is safe to hold the animals until you have cleaned any contaminated areas.
Disinfecting contaminated surfaces
It is important that you effectively disinfect any surfaces that have come into contact with floodwater. To do this, first remove loose dirt and debris from surfaces by thoroughly cleaning with detergent. A pressure washer, if available, can help remove stubborn areas of mud.
You can buy commercial-grade products from your local hardware store or agricultural supplier that contain compounds designed to clean, disinfect and sanitise buildings and surrounding areas. For disinfectant to be effective, you must leave the surface wet and use the required dilution rate for the required contact time.
Alternatively, washing down all surfaces with a suitable household-grade disinfectant solution can be an effective disinfectant. Most bleaches also act as disinfectants, so check that the product you use is a registered disinfectant. The solution helps prevent the spread of infection by killing common bacteria and viruses that could make your animals sick.
After removing loose dirt and debris from surfaces, scrub the area with the bleach solution. Keep the surfaces wet for the required contact time and then rinse off. Ensure that the area is thoroughly dry before allowing your animal into the area.
Note: organic matter, such as dung, hair and plant material, will inactivate the disinfectant effects of chlorine compounds.
Ensure that you use a registered product and follow the manufacturer's directions, including dilution rates, contact time and safety precautions as listed on the product label. Do not mix chlorine and ammonium compounds. Follow the recommended application safety precautions outlined on the label.
Disinfecting bedding and containers
If bedding or food and water containers have been contaminated, thoroughly clean and disinfect them before use. You can usually clean metal and hard plastics effectively, though timber products can be more difficult to disinfect.
You should use a suitable commercial- or household-grade disinfectant. Note that the dilution rate may be different to the recommendation for disinfecting hard surfaces.
Always follow the manufacturer's dilution recommendations listed on the product label.
If you are unsure whether you can disinfect some items effectively, safely dispose of those items and purchase new ones.
Also consider...
- Find out about infectious animal disease issues after a flood.
- Learn about plant poisoning issues after a flood.
- Find out about foot disease in animals after a flood.
- Find information on bringing animals home after a natural disaster.
Identifying stray cattle after a natural disaster
Stray cattle can be identified by reference to brands, earmarks, and NLIS tags if they are present.
Before moving cattle from the property, contact the local biosecurity inspector by phoning 13 25 23 to check if there are any restrictions on the movement of the cattle.
Brands
If the brand is clearly marked, it is relatively easy to determine from the brands register who applied the brand. However, this may not be the current owner. If more than one brand is present, this usually signifies the animal has been cross branded and the second brand (usually lower in position) could be the current owner. However, because cross branding is not compulsory, the evidence from the brand is not always an accurate indication of the current owner.
The DAF Brands database (iBrands) may help you to identify the owner. While a brand is considered prima facie evidence of ownership, other evidence, such as movement records, may be required to remove any doubt if animals are no longer at their home properties.
NLIS devices
Using the NLIS device to identify the place of residence for stray cattle is also possible. Because of privacy issues, it is not possible to obtain this information direct from the NLIS database, so finders can contact us or email NLIS administration.
In your email or fax, include the 16 visual characters, taking care to transcribe the number correctly. Also include your contact information such as your name, address and phone number. Alternatively, read the NLIS tag with a scanner and download the information to your computer before emailing NLIS administration.
Once the information has been received, the numbers will be entered into the NLIS database to search for the animal's last place of registration. A Biosecurity Queensland officer will contact the listed owner and request that they contact the finder.
If the last movement of the animal was not correctly recorded on the database, the listed owner may be incorrect.
Unidentifiable animals
If cattle cannot be identified at all, contact your local council or pound for advice.
Also consider...
- Find out about infectious animal disease issues after a flood.
- Learn about plant poisoning issues after a flood.
- Find out about foot disease in animals after a flood.
- Find information on parasite problems after a flood.
- Read more about moving livestock into Queensland.
© The State of Queensland 1995–2024
- Last reviewed: 08 Sep 2021
- Last updated: 08 Sep 2021