Farm safety - handling animals

Farmers can easily be injured by their livestock. To help prevent accidents, you should assess the breed, temperament, gender mix, size and training of your animals. Remember that they will be more aggressive during the mating season. Plan ahead for any task. Get help if you need it, but make sure your workers are adequately trained and familiar with the temperament of your animals. You should always wear suitable protective clothing (such as steel-toed boots) and use appropriate aids such as whips, cradles and dogs to make the job easier and safer.

Risk assessment
You can assess potential risks in many ways, including:

• Walk through all animal handling areas and look for hazards
• Read over injury records to pinpoint recurring dangers
• Talk over safety issues with workers and other animal handlers
• Remember that inexperienced workers are more likely to be injured.

• Yards and sheds should be suitable in size and strength for the animals.
• Avoid blind corners and sharp turns in the design of your yard.
• Keep the walkways dry and non-slip.
• Make sure your gates, footholds and access ways are well positioned.
• Keep all equipment in good repair.

• Make sure the cattle know you are approaching.
• Take care cows may charge to protect their calves.
• Use separate yards for bulls during the mating season, if possible.
• Fit bulls with nose rings.
• Avoid the danger of crush injury make sure there’s enough room for the cattle to move.
• Try to work beyond the kicking range of the animal or close to its body.
• Use headrails, cradles and crushes to restrain animals when necessary.
• Dehorn your cattle if possible.

• Use appropriate riding equipment that is kept in good repair.
• Wear suitable protective clothing, including a helmet if necessary.
• Exercise a horse before you attempt to mount, if it tends to buck.
• Make sure that inexperienced riders aren’t teamed with aggressive or nervous horses.
• Use dogs rather than horse riders to control animals because high speed gallops are dangerous.

• Keep boars separate at all times.
• Use a drafting board when moving boars.
• Use nose ropes and crushes to restrain pigs when necessary.
• To lift a pig, sit it down facing away from you, draw it close to your body and pick it up by the back legs, making sure to lift with your thigh muscles.

• Plan musters in advance.
• Assume that every ram will act unpredictably.
• Use dogs to control the mob.
• To lift a sheep, sit it down facing away from you, draw it close to your body and pick it up by the back legs, making sure to lift with your thigh muscles.

• Have your animals regularly tested and vaccinated.
• Familiarise yourself with the symptoms of animal diseases.
• Treat any sign of illness promptly.
• Practise good personal hygiene.
• Wash your hands after handling animals.
• Cover all cuts and open wounds before coming in contact with animals.
• If you come in contact with animal blood, urine or saliva, wash well with soap, water and antiseptic.
• Don’t feed offal to dogs.

• Your doctor
• Victorian WorkCover Authority Tel. 1800 136 089
• Victorian Farm Safety Alliance Tel. (03) 9207 5513
• Victorian Farm Safety Training Centre Tel. (03) 5334 3510
• In an emergency, always call 000 for an ambulance.

• Animals are unpredictable, especially during the mating season.
• Make sure yards, sheds and equipment are in good repair.
• Ensure that workers are appropriately trained and familiar with the temperament of the animals.

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