Support will continue all weekend for flood impacted livestock owners in the Hunter and Mid Coast requiring emergency animal welfare assistance.
Producers impacted by recent flooding are being urged to contact the Agriculture and Animal Services Hotline on 1800 814 647.
The Department of Primary Industries and Local Land Services are working together as the Agricultural and Animal Services Functional Area (AASFA) to support landholders affected by the floods.
Assistance available includes:
- emergency fodder or water supplies
- livestock assessment
- euthanasia and burial.
Incident controller Ken Garner has urged producers not to delay their requests for assistance.
"More than 120 producers from across the Hunter and Greater Sydney regions have already called us this week, seeking feed for stranded livestock or veterinary inspections of impacted animals, and our team is here to help," said Mr Garner.
"The AASFA hotline is open 9am-5pm this weekend. If you call outside of these times, please leave a message so our teams can respond as soon as possible."
A number of Animal Safe Places remain open for livestock unable to return to inundated farms.
These include:
- Singleton Saleyards
- Maitland Showground
- Maitland Saleyards
"It has been good to see so many proactive livestock owners taking steps to evacuate their stock early, and making provisions to see them cared for either on agistment or in one of the evacuation facilities," Mr Garner said.
"These centres will remain open for evacuated animals until it is safe for them to return or alternate agistment has been found."
There are many potential issues for producers to consider in the aftermath of major flooding.
In the short term, there is the immediate work involved in repairing infrastructure such as fence-lines and laneways and ensuring that immediate animal welfare responsibilities such as provision of adequate food, water and shelter are met.
"There have been widespread pasture losses across the region, which will further hamper local producers' ability to manage livestock nutritional needs for the remainder of winter," Mr Garner said.
"A very important consideration is the increased potential for certain livestock diseases. Our teams can provide advice for producers for ongoing management of their livestock health and welfare."
More information on managing livestock health and recovering from flood is also available via: https://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/help-and-advice/emergency-and-biosecurity/floods/flood-recovery-resources
