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Almost 6,300 livestock on farms have been killed or euthanised across New South Wales (NSW) as bushfires continue to rage across Australia.
Up to 6.3m ha of land – over half the land area of Ireland – has been burned, with NSW one of the worst affected states in Australia.
Roughly 130 fires were burning across the state at the beginning of the week, with flames reportedly reaching 70m high in some places.
The NSW minister for agriculture Adam Marshall said that fires had taken a “huge toll” on livestock, farms and farm infrastructure.
“Farmers really care for their animals and in many cases they have managed them through months of crippling drought, so to see them affected like this is heart-breaking for the people involved,” he said.
“Crews are currently working with contractors to help people assess and manage their remaining stock and to appropriately bury stock where required.”
Images and videos have emerged across social media of distressing scenes and large numbers of dead livestock.
One video showed up to a hundred cattle dead along a roadside in NSW – its Department of Agriculture confirmed that the animals have now been buried and some 2,350 animals have been moved to “animal save places” across the southeast of NSW.
Farmers are also facing severe fodder shortages and a number of dedicated distribution points have been established.
More than 880t of fodder have been distributed by the NSW government to farmers affected by the bushfires.
“Catastrophic fire danger ratings have been issued in NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria, and there has been loss of human lives and animals, and damage to property and the environment,” the Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook reported.
Australia experienced its second warmest period between January and November on record last year, making ideal bushfire conditions.
The Outlook reported that it expected a “long and challenging” fire season, with increased fire danger as the season progresses.
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