Mass Graves For Australia's Drought-Stricken Animals
Sarah Wotherspoon
West Wimmera Shire Council CEO Jim McKay said his council was talking to the Environment Protection Agency and Department of Primary Industries about possible locations for burial pits.
"We haven't dug one yet and hopefully we won't have to," he said.
"But if you have no feed and get low on water and you have no grass to make hay . . . you have to make a decision whether it's worth blowing $250 for wheat to feed sheep that are sometimes worth as little as 10c each."
He said the council didn't expect to have to make a decision on the graves until next week at the earliest, but wanted to be able to move quickly if necessary.
"You are basically shooting your livelihood. Nobody is in a hurry to do that, but we have to be prepared for it," he said.
EPA Rural Services Manager John Williamson said several councils would be thinking about the need for burial pits.
"I expect we will require them as we have had a failure of spring rain and there's not going to be a lot of feed out there for the animals," he said.
The EPA was working with councils to make sure any pits dug had minimal environmental impact.
"(The pits) are the best thing for a bad situation," he said.
"No one wants to see them put in, but in terms of animal welfare and soil protection it's the best option."
A DPI spokesman said West Wimmera Shire was the first council to approach it, but expected others would soon follow. "Assuming conditions remain the way they are we would expect other shires would make similar preparations," he said.
The pits were mainly used for poor quality stock that didn't sell at market.
"At the moment there's no need for them but the increasing number of poorly conditioned stock indicates they may be needed soon," he said.
The last time pits were dug was in 2002-03 when severe drought conditions last hit.
That included farmers forced to shoot and bury stock burnt by fire in bushfires in the Alpine National Park.