Often after a bushfire, the most suitable (or only) option is to agist livestock away from affected properties. Some factors to consider are described below.
Although there may be considerable pressure to move stock off an affected property due to lack of feed and/or water and limited or non-existent containment areas or handling facilities, asking questions before moving the stock is likely to benefit their health and welfare in the long term.
Often emergency agistment can only be found some distance from the affected property. It is important that if there are any doubts about the health or ability of stock to cope with being transported, that they are assessed by a veterinarian or Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) staff or they are not transported.
Whether it is cattle, sheep, goats, alpacas, horses or any other livestock, it is imperative to establish clearly who will be responsible for their day-to-day husbandry. This may seem obvious but in an emergency situation that may involve the assistance of a number of different agencies, incorrect assumptions may be made, as the priority is to move stock quickly. Ideally, a written agistment agreement should be signed between the two parties to provide written clarification of all responsibilities.
Owners of stock should ensure both they and the agistor agree who will check the animals each day, who is responsible for providing supplementary feed if necessary and who is responsible for providing any treatment required by fire-affected stock.
It may not be possible for the owners of stock to attend to them daily as they try to resurrect their lives/livelihoods. Consequently, it is important for those offering agistment to recognise the potential time commitment on their part.
Where fences have been destroyed by a fire and stock have been roaming freely, unintended matings may have occurred leading to inadvertent pregnancies in stock.
Owners of stock should notify the agistor of their preferred veterinarian in case stock become unwell or are injured during their time on the property. These decisions should be made before stock arrive on the agistment property.
The responsibility for the costs associated with the agistment should also be clear from the onset of the agistment arrangement.

When either agisting someone
’s stock or seeking agistment for one's own stock, it is important to consider how to prevent potential disease spread if other stock are present on the same property. Taking some simple precautions from the onset of agistment may save considerable disease control costs at a later date.
Although it may not always be possible in an emergency situation, ways in which to protect agisted stock (and/or other stock on the same property) are to:
 request/provide as much information about the health of the stock as possible before agistment
 confine livestock from different properties to specific paddocks, or as a minimum, quarantine introduced animals in specific paddocks until their disease status can be determined.
Some specific diseases or pests that could be introduced into a herd/flock during agistment are described below.
Be aware of the potential for sheep flocks or agistment properties to be infected with OJD.
Because of its long incubation period, it’s not practical to quarantine sheep for a period to ensure they do not have OJD. If there is concern that the sheep may have OJD, they should be confined to one paddock and independent veterinary advice taken to assess the risk they pose. Flocks or properties known to be infected with OJD are not quarantined in
WA, but owners should declare their status when entering into an agistment agreement.
See the DAFWA website and search ‘OJD’ for more information.
Although sheep to be agisted may not be showing signs of lameness, they have the potential to carry Dichelobacter nodosus (the bacteria that causes virulent footrot) on their feet. Keep sheep separate to any other sheep on the agistment property if there is any risk of them carrying virulent footrot.
Flocks known to have virulent footrot are quarantined in WA. Where movement off the property is required on welfare grounds such as after a fire, emergency permits can be arranged through the nearest DAFWA office.
Lice
All livestock species are susceptible to their own particular species of lice. Sheep lice, in particular, may prove difficult and costly to eradicate once established in a flock. Although recommended, inspection of a sample of sheep that only have a small infestation of lice will not always result in their detection. The best means of ensuring lice do not spread to other mobs of sheep is to keep the mobs separate during the agistment period.
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Although not an immediate concern given the damage and loss associated with a fire, if agisting stock from a fire-affected property, it is advisable to drench stock with a quarantine drench as they arrive at the agistment property (i.e. during their quarantine period) and again on their return home. See the Wormboss website for more information.
If supplementary feeding of agisted stock is required, any dietary changes should be gradual. Grain feeding should be introduced slowly in order to prevent grain overload.
Stock coming from a fire-affected property have often been off feed for a period. The safest feed for all classes of stock on arrival is good quality hay.
Also keep in mind that livestock may be introduced to different pasture types, including potentially toxic weeds that hungry stock may have not previously been exposed to, such as Cape Tulip. Cattle are particularly susceptible to accidental grazing of toxic plants.
Where such risks exist, feed stock on hay before turning into pastures, and monitor closely.
Animal welfare is the key priority during and immediately after a bushfire emergency when livestock need to be moved quickly away from danger and to access feed and water.
However, traceability of livestock movement remains important for food safety and disease control reasons, so livestock owners should ensure that when animals return from temporary agistment or if they are moved to a livestock congregation centre (e.g. saleyard, abattoir) from temporary agistment, that they use a valid waybill and record the movement on the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) database.
DAFWA can support livestock owners with a helpdesk to assist with any questions about property identification codes (PICs) or NLIS database issues.
For cattle NLIS assistance:
Telephone: 9780 6222 or
Email: cattle.nlis@agric.wa.gov.au
For sheep and goats NLIS assistance:
Telephone: 9363 4150 or
Email: sheep.nlis@agric.wa.gov.au or goats.nlis@agric.wa.gov.au.
More information is also available on the DAFWA website at agric.wa.gov.au.
Acknowledgement: The contents of this factsheet were adapted from the Victorian
Department of Environment and Primary Industries.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Agriculture and Food and the State of
Western Australia accept no liability whatsoever by reason of negligence or otherwise arising from the use or release of this information or any part of it.
© Western Australian Agriculture Authority 2015
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