September 5, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n Biosecurity Queensland has confirmed it is investigating the mysterious deaths of cattle on several properties in the South Burnett.<\/p>\n southburnett.com.au<\/strong> has spoken to several graziers in the Benair and Inverlaw areas who have lost young cattle in a spate of sudden deaths over the past month or so.<\/p>\n At least two autopsies have been performed – one by a private Kingaroy vet, and one by a Biosecurity Queensland expert based in Kingaroy.<\/p>\n Samples from the animals were submitted to the Biosecurity Queensland laboratory at Coopers Plains for testing.<\/p>\n A Biosecurity Queensland spokesman said yesterday these samples had been tested but a cause of death could not be determined.<\/p>\n Kingaroy vet Ashley Johnston said she had been called out by one property owner after he reported four deaths.<\/p>\n This owner, at Inverlaw, told southburnett.com.au<\/strong> one animal was was still alive when the vet arrived.<\/p>\n However it died before it could be euthanased. The vet immediately conducted an autopsy but could not see any apparent cause of death.<\/p>\n The grazier said he believed there were about seven other property owners around the area who had been affected by sudden cattle deaths, from poddy calves to older cattle.<\/p>\n “We have no idea about what we are dealing with,” he said.<\/p>\n “It’s like a new disease has come in. The only thing we have in common is that we are all on underground water.”<\/p>\n He said he was “frustrated” that no one seemed to know what had happened.<\/strong><\/p>\n He said soil tests had been taken but no water tests.<\/p>\n A second grazier said he had three deaths recently, including a steer on Tuesday that he had only purchased about six weeks earlier.<\/p>\n He said he had never seen anything like this before but he didn’t know if his property had the same problem as his neighbours or not.<\/p>\n “I was a bit different because it was a steer; the other people are losing weaners,” he said.<\/p>\n But he was concerned because most of the affected properties followed the same watercourse.<\/p>\n A third grazier told us he had lost four heifers. Three mature cows were also affected with foot rot at the same time.<\/p>\n He said the two problems could be connected as they had all been watered in the same gully, or they could be completely different issues.<\/p>\n As a precaution, the animals are being kept away from the gully area.<\/p>\n His wife told us the heifers had been “beautiful and perfectly healthy”.<\/p>\n “They were only a few weeks off being sold when they suddenly died,” she said.<\/p>\n