STOCK losses from the Kimberley flooding could be in their thousands, Western Australian Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis said from Broome this morning, where she has been meeting pastoral industry members hit by the unprecedented floods over the past two days.
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Ms Jarvis said the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) staff would not have a full assessment on the local livestock industry, from the flood, for many months.
She said DPIRD officers had already euthanised 14 cattle as a result of the emergency, and pastoral station owners would have dealt with many more.
The State's animal welfare emergency response arrangements have been activated, which gives DPIRD more powers to euthanise livestock when required.
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Ms Jarvis said the department would be doing whatever it could to support affected pastoral owners.
"We have pastoral stations that would have lost buildings, stockyards and there is significant damage to fences," Ms Jarvis said.
"I understand the water rose very quickly, so pastoral stations were cutting fences to allow cattle to move to higher ground."
Cattle in the State's Kimberley region are generally sold into the live export market.
But there are also concerns about the immediate future of The Kimberley Meat Company, located between Broome and Derby, which processes cattle and produces ground and boxed beef products for both the domestic and export markets.
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Although the company's abattoir facilities were not flooded, there are fears that it will not receive enough cattle to stay open, after a few thousand head of cattle out of the yards were lost in the floods.
The business employs more than 100 people.
The nearby Roebuck Plains cattle export depot is usually only used in the dry season to hold cattle awaiting export, but investigations are underway to see if it could potentially be used as an alternative holding facility for the company's cattle.
Ms Jarvis said the department was looking at getting environmental approvals through so that the company could use the site.
"We need to do whatever we can to keep local businesses operating," Ms Jarvis said.
"We want to get cattle processed where we can, because the meat industry is an important economic driver."
Disaster recovery funding arrangements (DRFA), now in effect, cover businesses including pastoral stations.
Ex-tropical cyclone Ellie crossed into WA from the Northern Territory in late December, causing widespread flooding across the Kimberley and blocking road access to regional towns and communities in the State's far north including Derby and Fitzroy Crossing.
Major flooding has occurred along the Fitzroy River to Fitzroy Crossing, which peaked at a record 5.81m last Thursday morning.
