Cattle have stopped breeding, koalas die of thirst: A vet's hellish diary of climate change

Bulls cannot breed at Inverell. They are becoming infertile from their testicles overheating. Mares are not falling pregnant, and through the heat, piglets and calves are aborting.

Gundi Rhoades is a member of Veterinarians
for Climate Action based in Inverell.

My work as a veterinarian has changed so much. While I would normally test bulls for fertility, or herds of cattle for pregnancy, I no longer do, because the livestock has been sold. A client’s stud stock in Inverell has reduced from 2000 breeders to zero.

I once assisted farmers who have spent their lives developing breeding programs, with historic bloodlines that go back 80 years. These stud farmers are now left with a handful of breeders that they can’t bear to part with, spending thousands keeping them fed, and going broke doing it.

Cattle that sold for thousands are now in the sale yards at $70 a head. Those classed as too skinny for sale are costing the farmer $130 to be destroyed.

Read the story from The Sydney Morning Herald by Gundi Rhoades - “Cattle have stopped breeding, koalas die of thirst: A vet's hellish diary of climate change.”