More photos emerge from Colac district farm of sick and starving cows

The Standard reported allegations of mass cattle deaths at the farm in August 2023.

Concerned people working in the industry have since contacted The Standard.

One man described sick and starving cattle, bone-dry troughs in summer and flooded paddocks in winter, causing the animals to become stuck in the mud.

He said up to 200 cows were often observed in a 10-acre paddock with inadequate nutrition and "virtually minimal" herd health.

Those who spoke to this masthead did so on the condition of anonymity.

Dead cows in varying stages of decay were reported to be littered across one of the properties last month but appeared to have been cleared on Wednesday, September 13.

The Standard observed a number of extremely thin cows in a paddock that day.

Some people say they witnessed the dire situation at the farm a number of years ago.

"All the animals were getting so badly treated. Everything was dying," one man told The Standard.

He said sick cattle didn't receive medical care and dead bodies were often thrown over a wall and into a creek, or into a "death pit".

He said the knackery would be there "pretty much everyday" to pick up the rest.

On one occasion a cow was allegedly found tucked up behind a bush with its head "basically split into a quarter and bleeding out pus" after an abscess was left untreated for five days.

The man said there was often too many cows per paddock with no grass or feed.

"Valuable cows were left to starve. Even the ones that were pregnant," he said.

It has also been alleged cows were sold the day after invasive medical procedures, leaving them "pumped full of meds".

The man said there were no lanes for the cattle in the wetter months, forcing them to walk up to two kilometres with sore feet.

It is understood there have been complaints to RSPCA and/or the Department of Agriculture Victoria in recent years.

The department, which is the regulatory body for reports involving mass cattle, is aware of the situation.

In August an Agriculture Victoria spokeswoman told The Standard the department took animal welfare "very seriously".

"We respond to all allegations received," she said.

"Anyone wishing to make a specific complaint can contact Agriculture Victoria."

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