Animals suffering in Brisbane flood crisis
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Domestic pets, wild animals and commercial livestock have all been caught up in the flooding disaster. (AAP: Kelly Watt)
It is not just people who have been affected by floods swamping Queensland - animals too are suffering terribly.
Domestic pets, wild animals and commercial livestock have all been caught up in the disaster.
Michael Beatty, the RSPCA's Queensland spokesman, says he has heard many devastating tales from residents forced to evacuate their homes.
"In some places where people have had to leave their pets behind it's been absolutely heartbreaking for them, as I'm sure you can understand," he said.
Mr Beatty says the flooding has left the organisation in a tough position.
"Anything to do with animals, everyone calls the RSPCA. Unfortunately, the situation in Brisbane now, in regards to us physically being able to take in animals, is non-existent because we simply can't," he said.
"We don't have an operational shelter in Brisbane. The animals that left the Brisbane shelter have gone into foster care and we just really thank the foster carers and the volunteers who came in this morning to help.
"But at the moment, we basically can't take in any other animals."
Mr Beatty says for the time being, the RSPCA has enough foster care homes.
"But certainly in the days, possibly even weeks ahead, we are going to need more foster carers, there's no doubt about that," he said.
Mr Beatty says there are concerns for all animals, including domestic pets, farm animals and those in the wild.
"In Rockhampton even now we don't know exactly how bad the situation is going to be in regard to livestock," he said.
"We have started to drop food to areas where we know livestock has been isolated.
"In most cases people did their best to try to move the animals to higher ground, but in some cases the higher ground that they moved them to simply wasn't high enough.
"In all possibility there'll be a large number of animals, livestock in particular, that will have died during the floods, no doubt about that.
"As far as the native animal toll, well, I don't think anyone's going to know probably for weeks."
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