Northern Ireland-Precautions when handling livestock.

NORTHERN IRELAND.

MLA warns farmers of livestock dangers

Following the recent inquest into the death of a County Tyrone farmer who was crushed to death by a bull, the Ulster Unionist agricultural spokesperson, Tom Elliott who himself farms near Ballinamallard, has highlighted the dangers of working with large livestock on the farm.

"Between four and five livestock related fatalities occur on our farms every year", he said, "and many more farmers are injured either by kicks or crushing. Most of these incidents occur, as did this one, while the animals are enclosed in pens or during handling.

"It should be always emphasised to us that farmers should put their own safety first in performing any task on the farm, especially when working on their own. I know from experience that it is not easy to always cover every safety opportunity, but it is something that we should always give consideration to.

"When it comes to working with enclosed animals", he went on, "farmers should only get into the pen with the animals when absolutely necessary.

"If you have to enter the pen, ensure you have a easy escape route which gets you immediately out of harms way. In particular, older farmers need to know their limits as they may not be as agile as they use to be."

While farm safety is often seen as just more bureaucracy, it is only when a serious injury or death occurs that the everyday stresses of farming becomes much less important.

Harold Loughrin, a Cookstown farmer in his late 70’s was fatally crushed whilst feeding a bull on the family farm in June 2007, a task he had carried out twice daily for the previous three years.