Good planning is essential to ensure that, if a drought occurs, you are still able to protect the welfare of your livestock. You should incorporate animal welfare standards in your management plan to account for variations in rainfall and climate.

The standards below outline your roles and responsibilities for animal care under animal welfare laws.

Legal duty of care

The Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 places a legal duty of care on those in charge of animals to provide for their needs. This includes providing suitable food and water.

Appropriate care

You are obligated by duty of care to implement drought management strategies that provide appropriate care for animals.

When deciding what is appropriate care, you must consider the animal's species, environment, circumstances and steps a reasonable person would be expected to take.

Model codes of practice

The Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 recognises the Australian model codes of practice for the welfare of animals for various livestock species. These codes provide guidelines for animal husbandry and management, and outline the obligations of livestock owners to maintain the wellbeing of their animals.

The Act and the codes state that it is unacceptable to allow an animal to die from lack of suitable feed or water. This includes during times of drought. The key industry bodies endorse this principle.

Defining acceptable animal welfare

Some codes are available to help animal industries determine 'acceptable' animal welfare, especially where seasonal conditions increase the risk to animals. These codes may change as scientific knowledge, industry practices or community expectations change.

As Queensland's rainfall is seasonal and variable, pasture quantity and quality change accordingly. As a result, so does the condition of grazing animals. It is normal for grazing animals to gain weight during summer and autumn, and maintain or lose weight during winter and spring.

The effect of these seasonal conditions on pasture quantity and quality is usually evident well before any impact on animals.

Also consider...

• Find out about managing sheep in drought.

There is a difference between normal variation in seasonal rainfall and severe rainfall deficiency. Drought is a severe shortage of food or water, usually the result of prolonged periods of low rainfall. It is not a normal seasonal decline in the quantity and quality of food available.

Although droughts are not as predictable as seasonal variations, tools are available to help you assess the likelihood of drought and give them appropriate risk management strategies.

Market information and climate forecasting tools are becoming more sophisticated to assist producers in this decision making.

Actions to take

As seasonal conditions deteriorate, you should reduce stock numbers or supplement stock as part of normal dry season management.

You should maintain livestock in at least strong store condition. If you believe that these minimal requirements may not be met, you need to implement risk management plans. These can include:

• further reducing stock numbers
• weaning early
• segregating animals on the basis of size and strength to minimise competition for supplements
• where mating is controlled, deferring mating
• humanely destroying severely weakened animals.

Take these actions as early as possible when conditions are deteriorating or at risk of deteriorating.

Determining adequate food supply

The amount of food required to maintain an animal depends on factors including sex, breed, age, environment and activity level.

The appropriate level of feed will vary under different circumstances. You must consider the availability of fodder and overall seasonal conditions when determining what is an appropriate level of feed.

Several indicators can help determine whether an animal is being maintained in reasonable condition, including:

• gait - the ability to move freely without swaying or stumbling
• strength - the ability to rise and lie down without a struggle
• birthing - the ability to give birth with minimal complications
• lactation - the ability to produce sufficient milk to sustain suckling progeny
• body condition - a minimum condition score of 2 on a 5 point scale. This may vary between breeds and country types
• demeanour - where the animal is alert and responsive to its environment.

You need to use a combination of these indicators to determine an animal's state.

Close monitoring

If stock are in a weakened condition, you must monitor them closely. Animals that are in poor condition and do not feed should receive appropriate treatment or be humanely killed.

Sustainable stocking rates

You should maintain sustainable stocking rates and develop property plans that incorporate effective drought management strategies.

Also consider...

• Find out how to destroy livestock humanely.
• Learn about managing sheep in drought.

When transporting livestock, you must ensure that they are appropriately cared for and handled throughout the process.

Codes of practice help plan and minimise the effect of the transport process on animals.

You should use the Australian animal welfare standards and guidelines for the land transport of livestock to help minimise the effect of transport on animals. These standards will help you meet your obligations under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001.

Generally, it is unacceptable to transport weak livestock because the rigors of the journey place additional stress on the animals. These stresses may severely affect the animal's welfare and can result in suffering, injury and death.

However, it is recognised that, during prolonged dry periods, livestock may be weakened. And, due to lack of available fodder, transporting them to agistment or sale may be the only viable management option. You need to manage this transportation to minimise the affect on the animals.

Obligations under the Animal Care and Protection Act

The Act states that it is cruel to transport animals when they are unfit to travel.

The Act places a legal duty of care on everyone in charge of animals to provide appropriately for the needs of those animals. This includes providing suitable fodder, water and proper handling. In deciding what is classed as appropriate care, consider the species, the environment, the animal's circumstances and the steps a reasonable person would be expected to take.

In the case of transportation, the definition of the 'person in charge' includes the owner, employees of the owner and anyone with custody of the animal at the time. This also includes agents, transporters or anyone else involved in the transportation process. There is a shared legal responsibility on everyone involved in transporting livestock to ensure that the welfare of the animals is not jeopardised.

Other welfare codes for livestock

Read more about the correct care and handling of livestock in the:

• animal welfare codes for cattle, emu, buffalo, feral livestock animals, camel, poultry, pigs, deer, goat and sheep
• animals at saleyards code
• livestock at slaughtering establishments code.

Also consider...

• Find out more about changes to the compulsory code for the land transport of livestock.
• Find out more about the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 .
• Read about the duty of care for animals.
• Learn about animal welfare during transport.
• Find out about feeding travelling cattle.
• Read about transporting poultry.
• Learn about loading strategies for transporting cattle by road.
• Find out about the land transport of livestock code.

It is important to handle livestock as quietly as possible throughout the transportation process to minimise impact on the animals.

Loading

• Segregate livestock into groups of similar age, sex and strength. With weak, lactating breeders, you may segregate the calves.
• During the loading process, the transport operator and the owner or agent should make sure livestock are fit for the intended journey.
• Minimise stress and injury by allowing sufficient time for the animals to load quietly.
• Adjust loading densities to suit the class of livestock.
• Where possible, the strongest animals should be loaded on the top deck of double-deck crates.

In transit

The responsibility for the care of animals during transport lies with the transport driver. Weakened or very young livestock must be carefully monitored en route.

• Before transportation, allow adequate spelling time, and give animals access to fodder and water.
• Complete the transportation as quickly as possible.
• Regularly monitor the condition of the animals.
• Treat or assist animals experiencing difficulties.
• Unload livestock that are not travelling well.
• Consider additional spelling or euthanasia for seriously distressed animals.

Unloading

Take extra care when unloading animals at the end of a journey, as they may be tired and distressed, which increases the risk of injury. At this stage, the responsibility for the animals' welfare changes from the driver to the person receiving the animals.

• Ensure that the facilities taking delivery of the livestock are suitable. This may include providing access to shelter, fodder and water.
• Confirm that the person in charge of the facility has ensured that it is prepared and meets the animals' needs.
• Ensure the person taking delivery of the animals is aware of any issues relating to the health and wellbeing of the animals (as noted by the driver or owner).
• Allow livestock to unload at their own pace. Downer stock should not be dragged off the transport. If they are unable to walk off, they should be euthanased on the vehicle (where possible).
• Ensure that experienced staff are available to assist with the unloading.
• Ensure animals are well fed before releasing them into situations where they could be exposed to potentially toxic plants.

You must treat sick, stressed or injured animals quickly and ensure that the humane destruction of animals is performed when required.

Also consider...

• Learn more about preparing livestock for transport.

There are 4 key areas to consider in managing the risks associated with transporting weakened livestock: early action, planning, pre-transport preparation, and handling.

Early action

Early drought management, risk analysis and decision making ensure that livestock are not placed in a condition where their welfare is compromised while being transported.

Planning

Before making any transport arrangements, you need to consider all aspects of the intended journey.

Key aspects include:

• ensuring that only reputable operators transport livestock
• informing the transport operator of the cattle's condition when booking the transport, and seeking advice on the suitability of the journey and its possible impact on the animals
• ensuring that you transport weakened livestock over the shortest possible time and directly to the destination
• ensuring that weakened animals going to slaughter travel directly to the abattoir and are not processed through a saleyard
• understanding that weakened livestock have greater requirements when spelling (additional time, higher quality fodder, etc) than might normally be available
• accounting for any en route treatments that the animals require under state or federal legislation, such as dipping for tick clearance
• understanding that the stress of travel or unexpected delays could cause animal strength to decline rapidly and identifying all potential spelling facilities en route - not just those intended for the journey
• avoiding climate extremes when handling, loading and transporting the animals, as weakened animals are particularly susceptible to weather extremes
• ensuring that adequate facilities are available for taking delivery of animals on arrival
• considering euthanasia options for severely distressed animals.

Preparing

Animals that are prepared appropriately before transportation will travel better and experience fewer problems.

Consider the following when preparing livestock for transport:

• Make sure only fit livestock are selected for travel by experienced stockpersons.
• If animals go down after limited exercise, withhold them from transport and either feed to increase their strength or euthanase.
• Females in late pregnancy are particularly susceptible to metabolic disease so you should withhold them from transport.
• Before transportation, give weakened livestock access to fodder and water. Keep a balance between emptying the rumen (to prevent slippery floors on the truck caused by manure and urine) and maintaining a healthy rumen (to reduce transit stress that may cause metabolic upsets).
• Feed animals a high-energy, fibrous ration to strengthen them for transportation. This promotes healthy rumen function and minimises the risk of metabolic diseases.