Farming is the most dangerous profession in Ireland. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) revealed that farmers are eight times more likely to die in a workplace-related accident than the general working population.
The HSA reported 21 people lost their lives in farm accidents in 2016.
The Farm Safety Partnership (FSP) in Northern Ireland has just launched a new advert, as part of its ongoing ‘Stop and Think SAFE‘ farm safety campaign.
The campaign reminds farmers to consider four main risk areas when working: slurry; animals; falls; and equipment.
The clip features the possible aftermath of a farmer injured by a cow while he checks on her newborn calf.
The advert reinforces the need for farmers to be vigilant when working with livestock, in particular, freshly calved cows.
“All too often accidents happen on our farms which are preventable, so we want to continue to raise awareness for everyone working on or visiting a working farm,” the Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), Keith Morrison, said.
So far this year there have been nine fatalities on Irish farms. Most recently, on May 5, a farmer died following an accident with a tractor on a farm near Upperchurch in Co. Tipperary.
Danger of moving livestock
Meanwhile, Independent TD from Co. Kerry, Michael Healy-Rae has previously spoken of the need for farmers to be very careful when moving livestock.
This followed his own experience of a cow attack on his farm; he was knocked unconscious and was left with broken ribs.
Some day could be your last day, if you’re not very careful.
“I was bringing a cow and her new calf onto a straw bed; she was a very quiet cow always and this would have been her third or fourth calf,” explained Healy-Rae.
“For no reason in the world, she just turned on me. When I say she turned on me, she was particularly vicious.
“In a very short length of time – it seemed like an awful long time – she had a lot of damage done.
“If I was on my own, which nine times out of 10 I would be, I would not have come out of the pen alive,” he said.