Flood’s startling toll on animals
SICK animals are still coming through the doors of JCU Vet in the wake of the floods, which saw the hospital go into overdrive and its death toll climb.
On the final Friday of January, the vet began 12-hour shifts as wildlife and domestic animals began shuffling in.
Hospital manager Kate Mcleod said turtles and birds from the wild were frequent, while older pets and juveniles also suffered health issues.
“It’s a lot like humans,” she said. “It is babies and old people who are far more vulnerable to stressful events and illness.”
Several puppies contracted canine parvovirus, which may have been caused by the flood.
“There’s a lot of things that have been soil-borne pathogens that have now become exposed because of the depth … of the floods through soil that wouldn’t normally be underwater for that long,” she said.
“And we think that’s why we are still getting unusual vomiting and diarrhoea … and we have nothing to put it down to except for an aftermath of the floods.
“(The numbers) are decreasing now but it’s still higher than we would normally see.”
Ms Mcleod said the hospital had seen a heightened number of melioidosis cases, all of which were treated.
The number of euthanased animals skyrocketed during the floods. In a 21-day period, 53 domestic animals were euthanased – more than double the average.
“And that’s extremely traumatic for the staff too,” Ms Mcleod said. “We didn’t account for wildlife because there was just so much.”
Two months on, Ms Mcleod said the impact on animals had been dramatic. She said in the future alternative spaces for animals at evacuation centres needed to be looked at.
Ms Mcleod said losing a pet could have a detrimental effect on a person’s health and wellbeing.
“We have cyclone shelters for humans should we start looking at cyclone shelters for animals? And it might be that they are separated for a period of time and cared for by vets and vet nurses,” she said.