Cattle deaths in the south-west after the St Patrick’s Day fires were not due to smoke from peat fires fires near Cobden, Agriculture Victoria chief veterinary officer Charles Milne says.
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Dr Milne said investigations found the cattle died from acidosis after they were switched to a maize diet.
Dr Milne said initial investigations had also found bacteria had caused some cattle to abort their embryos, rather than smoke from fires.
He said his department’s review of information about the impact of smoke from peat fire smoke had led it to conclude the impact on livestock of smoke from the peat fires near Cobden would be negligible.
However blood and milk tests will be done on livestock within a kilometre of the peat fires for the next few weeks to check there was nothing unusual occurring, he said.
Dr Milne said if farmers had any concerns about the health of their livestock following the March 17 fires, they should access the Significant Disease Investigations Team.
Farmers should access the team through their local veterinarians, he said.
The cost of the team’s initial investigations were fully subsidised by government, Dr Milne said.
He said department staff had attended public meetings held throughout the south-west in recent weeks about the fires to hear farmers’ concerns about the impact on livestock.