After a bushfire many factors must be considered when assessing burnt livestock.
Frequent assessments on a daily basis is needed after a bushfire event for those animals not killed directly by fire or destroyed due to injuries.
Continued support for the owners will need to be considered and/or provided.
Assessing livestock
While it's a great relief for owners when their livestock survive a bushfire, factors that need to be considered when assessing burnt livestock include:
immediate and long term welfare of the animals
severity of burns or injuries
impact of injuries on productivity
availability of feed and water
what facilities are available for sustained care of the animals
the owners capacity and willingness (physically, emotionally and financially) to provide ongoing care and reassessment of burnt animals
Assessing sheep after a bushfire - Agriculture Victoria
Assessing cattle after a bushfire - Agriculture Victoria
The Assessing Bush Fire Burns in Livestock information sheet produced by the New South Wales Government provides advice on the assessment and care of burnt livestock.
Livestock showing signs of distress
Livestock showing signs of obvious distress should be immediately treated by a veterinarian or humanely destroyed.
If an animal's condition should deteriorate they will need to receive veterinary treatment or be humanely destroyed.
Any animal that was exposed to smoke inhalation is at risk. If your animals start to show signs of breathing difficulty, seek veterinary advice immediately.
Burns to feet can result in lost hooves or separation of the hoof from the Coronary band. This results in pain and predisposition to flystrike. Stock with hooves that have regrown after a seperation are also more prone to future chronic foot conditions. Any degree of hoof seperation is a trigger for euthanasia.
Fire affected stock will need to be placed on the softest, most level ground available to facilitate healing. High protein foods such as lucerne should be provided to the animals.
Great care will be required to ensure that flystrike is treated early. Any wound from the fire is a risk for flystrike and the risk is much greater with any animal that has a fleece (i.e. sheep, angora goats or alpacas).
Examining sheep after a bushfire
Sheep in particular need to be closely examined and turned up for close inspection.
The face, ears, lips, anus, vulva, teats, penis, prepuce, scrotum, axilla (armpits) inguinal areas, legs and feet must be closely examined.
Be aware that singed wool is not always a good indicator of severity of a sheep’s wounds.
Ongoing requirements
Due to the increase in wildlife and/or domestic animal carcasses around after a bushfire, the number of blowflies is likely to increase.
Daily re-examination and reassessment will be required for at least the first week after a fire. Then inspection at least 2-3 times weekly for a further 2-3 weeks will be required.
Due to confinement internal parasites may also be a problem especially after rain.
The supply of clean water and quality feed is essential for post fire recovery of burnt animals.
More information
Detailed animal welfare information is provided on the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries website.