Up to half a million cattle have died after Australia’s Queensland state received three years’ worth of rainfall in a week.
According to Australian media, farmers were forced to kill thousands of stressed animals that did not drown or freeze to death.
Some cattle stations have lost at least 50 per cent of their livestock after flooding rain raked the Queensland coast before sweeping inland and submerging vast tracts of outback under record-breaking depths of muddy water.
The flooding comes after seven years of drought.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: “People have gone through drought, they have come out of years and years of drought, and they have now gone smack-bang into a natural disaster the likes of which no one out there has seen before.”
The downpours have ceased however the clean-up operation is now underway.
Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner is heading to the affected areas along with the army and biosecurity experts to discover the best way to dispose of the animal carcasses to stop further cattle from dying of diseases.
Among options being considered are mass burial pits.
One farmer described the scene to the Guardian: “There are kangaroos dead in trees and fences, birds drowned in drifts of silt and debris and our beloved bovine family lay perished in piles where they have been huddling for protection and warmth.
”The scene is mirrored across the entire region, it is absolutely soul-destroying to think our animals suffered like this.”
The Queensland government is providing assistance to those affected with farmers eligible for grants of up to $53,000 (£29,264).
Queenslanders have warned anyone coming into contact with the carcasses to cover their hands and feet.
Australia’s beef industry is one of the country’s biggest economic drivers, with exports in 2017 worth over £4 billon.
