A man was injured in an incident involving livestock at a mart in Co. Leitrim in recent days, it has been confirmed.
The incident occurred at Drumshanbo Mart, Co. Leitrim on Friday evening (September 17) and the man in question is a member of staff at the mart.
A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána confirmed that a member of staff at a mart in Drumshambo was injured by an animal on Friday evening at approximately 6:00p.m.
“One man (early 50s) received injuries and was removed to Sligo University Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.”
Investigations are ongoing and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has been notified, the Garda spokesperson added.
On the topic of farm safety involving livestock, the HSA has previously compiled a list of “Golden Rules in Handling Cattle”.
This can be broken into key sections as follows.
To begin with, in terms of resources and facilities, the HSA says you should always:
- Work out an escape route or refuge area in advance of working with cattle;
- Wear suitable protective clothing and footwear;
- Use well-designed facilities – these should be seen as an investment in your safety;
- Regularly check and maintain facilities such as the crush, gate latches and fences;
- Protect yourself against biohazards with proper personal hygiene; and
- Keep ground surfaces clean and clear of trip hazards, as far as possible.
Next up, once these are sorted, one looks at the actual handling of the animals.
Taking this into account, the authority advises that you should “know and understand the basics of cattle behaviour”.
This can be understood in the form of the head (lowering and jutting out the top of the head) and tail positions, pawing the ground with its legs, or bellowing.
Seriously distressed cattle often bellow loudly – a sure sign to the farmer to be especially careful and to its herd-mates that there is danger.
You should always be careful around cows that are calving or with newborn calves, as they are more likely to attack.
Further details can be found here.