Fencing plea by club is denied

A CAIRNS junior sporting club has been refused funding for wallaby fencing as health authorities issue an urgent warning about a deadly disease lurking in macropod faeces.

Cairns Tropical Public Health Services are urging people who work with animals to get vaccinated after 23 recent cases of Q fever were confirmed on the Tablelands.

Q fever is a potentially deadly illness caused by the bacteria coxiella burnetii, carried by animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and kangaroos. The majority of new cases have been around Mareeba.

People can contract the illness by breathing in droplets or dust contaminated by excrement or fluids from infected animals.

The health warning comes after Marlin Coast Rangers Football Club in Trinity Beach – outside the Q fever outbreak zone – were denied a request for state government funds to build a 2m high fence to keep wallabies off fields.

In a letter to the group dated August 6 Barron River MP Craig Crawford said the COVID-19 economic status meant he was unable to seek funds for the project.

“The good news is the State Government has announced a $200m COVID works for Queensland (W4Q) program to be delivered during 2020-21,” he said.

“I believe your request would be eligible for the W4Q program, however it is up to council to nominate the projects they wish to fund.”

Cairns Regional Council has committed $30,000 towards the $52,000 project.

Club president Rod Hickling wrote to members last month, before the Q fever outbreak was recorded, outlining his disappointment at the state government’s decision.

“This is about reducing the risk to our members’ health and finding the best way to manage the wallaby population,” he wrote.