Looking after pets and livestock during bushfires

Pets and livestock create quite unique problems when a bushfire is burning in the area, yet both can be looked after with the proper preparation.

For many, pets are a part of the family, so preparation for them should be done in the same way.

Prepare by having a collection of their belongings, food, water and medicines in your Emergency Kit.

Practice your evacuation process with your animals, and ensure you have enough room to fit everyone in your vehicle safely if your plan is to leave early.

Livestock may not be able to be evacuated safely, so a better option can be to establish an area or large paddock with low combustible fuel loads to keep your animals in during days of elevated fire risk.

Horses can be adept at avoiding fires if they have room to move, so by opening internal gates within your property and providing them with room to move as the fire passes, they may be able to avoid harm.

It is not safe to open external gates and let livestock or horses roam free, as they may be difficult to see when smoke and dust becomes airborne by the fire and can be struck by residents or emergency service vehicles travelling through the area.

There is more information in our factsheet about preparing pets and livestock for bushfires.

And we have a detailed guide to looking after horses in bushfires