Cairns' dangerous animals: are they really that bad?

The Cairns Post ran an interesting article about the actual impact of dangerous animals in Cairns like sharks, crocodiles and stingers on human fatalities, pointing out that deaths are rare and you have more to be worried about from skin cancer and car accidents.  Stingers were identified as a real threat which has significant annual impact.
Similarly with pets, pet owners are often worried about some fairly rare events:

Common fears of Cairns pet owners.

Some of the common concerns we get in Cairns are:
Snake Bites
Spider Bites
Malicious poisoning
Theft of dogs

Common causes of Cairns pet losses and deaths
While all these are possibilities, they are surprisingly rare in Cairns (and many suspected cases are never confirmed).  Of course, you should take sensible precautions against these types of events, but for every 10 pets I've heard about which were "baited", 9 of them had hookworm or parvovirus, and likewise when people report their pet was stolen many of them have run away, and either got lost or found a new home.  Many of these would find their way home if they were microchipped.
Likewise, tick paralysis causes dozens of pet deaths in Cairns every year.  We are in a quiet time for ticks at the moment, but if we get a stretch of dry weather we can expect to see a peak in the number of paralysed pets, so be prepared.
So preventable causes of pet loss are more significant than the some of the more common concerns Cairns Pet owners have.
Wandering due to inadequate fencing, pets not being desexed, with the result pets are lost or hit by a car, or get tick paralysis are a major issue.  Many lost pets are found but cannot get back to their owner because they are not microchipped.
Make sure you cover the common problems first to keep your pet safe.

Dallas McMillan
Cairns Veterinary Clinic 

Read Cairns Vet pet advice and Pet news on the web.

Operators worried new shark movie might hurt Far North tourism

Daniel Bateman

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

© The Cairns Post

 

Killer of the deep: Shark attacks have caused 82 fatalities in Qld since 1847.

IT'S the stuff of nightmares: being stranded at sea after your boat has sunk and watching friends mauled and killed by a ravenous shark in front of your eyes.

This was the very real fate that befell two thirds of the crew onboard the New Venture, a trawler that sank 5km west of Broadhurst Reef, off the coast of Townsville, 27 years ago. There was only one survivor, skipper Ray Boundy, who was rescued on the swim to shore.

The tale seems tailor-made for a horror movie, so it should come as no surprise to find the sinking of the trawler was actually the inspiration behind The Reef, an Australian-made movie which opened in Cairns cinemas last Thursday.

Tourism operators are understandably worried about the effect the horror film, which bears the tagline “pray that you drown first”, will have on the Far North’s tourism industry. Director Andrew Traucki has assured there were far more dangerous things out there to worry about, such as cyclones.

It may be a difficult point to argue, following an attack on a female wakeboarder north of Newcastle last Wednesday, further adding fuel to the killer shark image.

But, realistically, just how dangerous are sharks in comparison to some of the other killers known to frequent our waters?

Read the full article at Cairns Local news, the Cairns Post