Agriculture Victoria fire relief controller Banjo Patterson said at least 219 farms had been affected by the south-west fires.

While no official figure on livestock losses has yet been tallied, it is expected to surpass 10,000 head.

Mr Patterson said Agriculture Victoria’s first priority was to deal with the welfare of injured livestock.

He said the department had 11 teams out in the field on Tuesday going to fire-affected farms to offer help.

Mr Patterson said farmers did not have to wait for the department to euthanise stock they believed were too seriously injured to save.

However they should take photographs of the livestock they euthanised for insurance purposes.

He said the department’s field teams could give advice to farmers on which livestock could be saved.

Farmers who had animal welfare issues could ring Agriculture Victoria on 5336 6721 and an animal welfare team would visit as soon as possible, Mr Patterson said.

He said if farmers wanted to bury animals on their properties, they should get advice from a fact sheet, available on Agriculture Victoria’s website, about what areas they should avoid for use as burial pits.

Mr Patterson said local government had the responsibility for the burial of large numbers of animals.

He advised people wishing to bury livestock away from their properties to contact their local council.

If there were sufficient numbers of dead livestock to be buried off farms, local government would arrange burial pits under the guidance of their environmental health officers, Mr Patterson said.

He understood abattoirs including the Midfield Group were offering priority processing to farmers who wanted to sell fire-affected livestock.

Farmers needing help should contact the Victorian Farmers Federation on 1800 882 833.

People with good quality fodder to donate should also contact the VFF on the same phone number.

The Rural Financial Counselling Service is also available for immediate assistance and can be contacted on 1300 735 578 (24 hour hotline).