Mastering Animal Handling: When working with large farm animals, it's crucial to understand the potential risks and ensure safety for yourself and others. Animal handling involves a range of activities like breeding, mustering, feeding, and vaccinations, demanding a good understanding of livestock behavior and related factors.

Key considerations in animal handling:

1. Training and Guidance:Acquire training or guidance to enhance your skills in handling livestock. Understand the animals' temperaments, behaviors, and factors affecting them, such as storms, hunger, breeding patterns, and fear.
2. Variety of Tasks:Animal handling encompasses diverse tasks, including breeding, herding, milking, shearing, and vaccinations. Each activity requires specific attention to the animals involved.

Risks Associated with Animal Handling:

1. Physical Injury:Animals, being unpredictable, can cause severe physical injuries, such as head and spinal damage, broken bones, or even death. Injuries may occur from falls, bites, kicks, or when using equipment like knives and shears.
2. Hazardous Manual Tasks:Engaging in manual tasks involving lifting, pushing, pulling, or sustained force can lead to injuries like sprains, strains, and back injuries.
3. Chemical Exposure:Handling hazardous chemicals and medicines during activities like dipping and drenching poses risks. Exposure may result in symptoms like headaches, blurred vision, and nausea.
4. Diseases from Animals:Zoonotic diseases, which can pass from animals to humans, include bacteria, viruses, and parasites. These diseases can cause serious illness or death.

It's essential to be aware of these risks and adopt preventive measures to ensure a safer working environment. Take necessary precautions, use proper equipment, and stay informed about specific risks associated with handling different types of large animals, such as cattle, horses, pigs, and sheep.

Other animals farmed in Queensland

Many different animals are farmed or under management in Queensland. Use the four steps to manage the risks (listed below) no matter which animal you farm.

Alpacas and llamas: Alpacas and llamas are grown for their fleece and meat. They are ideal for small-scale lifestyle farms where owners of small herds produce fibre products such as felts and yarns. Alpacas are curious animals with a strong herd instinct. Llamas are larger with coarser hair. Alpacas and llamas are usually gentle. Llamas tend to be more outspoken and can hiss, spit, kick or lie down if mishandled.
The Australian Alpaca Association has more information about farming alpacas.

Bees: Although not individually large, bee swarms and hives pose risks from mass stinging. Collecting honey and other hive maintenance require safety precautions.
Read more about managing bees and safe beekeeping practices.

Camels: Large and heavy, camels can bite, jump, kick and spit. Camels are an invasive species in Australia, but it is not illegal to own or farm them. Camels are used in tourism and for milk and meat products.
Read more about camel husbandry and the camel welfare code.

Crocodiles: Powerful, carnivorous predators, crocodiles pose significant risks of serious injury and death. You need a permit to farm this native species.
Read about farming crocodiles, handling crocodiles and living around crocodiles.
Read about crocodile husbandry.

Deer: An introduced species, deer are farmed for their meat, antlers and velvet. Stags are particularly dangerous during rutting season. All deer can jump, so fences need to be high enough to hold them.
Read more about deer handling and deer farming.

You can also find more information in the Australian deer industry Code of Practice and the Code of accepted farming practice for the welfare of deer.

Emus, ostriches and cassowaries: These flightless birds belong to the order ‘ratite’ and are considered three of the most dangerous birds in the world. They have strong legs with long, sharp claws and are often aggressive if provoked or angered. Although they can’t fly, they can jump high, run fast and swim. They pose risks of serious injury and death. Emus are a native, flightless bird. They can only be farmed under permit. You can find more information in the Emu farming Code of Practice (1992).

Ostriches are an introduced species from Africa. Ostrich farming is not currently popular. The Australian Society of Zookeepers has information on ostrich husbandry.
The cassowary is a threatened species. You cannot keep or farm cassowaries.

Goats: Farmed for fleece, meat, hides and milk, goats are an introduced species to Australia and feral populations are pests. Although a comparatively small animal, goats are feisty and often clever, stubborn and agile. They pose a variety of risks.
Learn more about goats and goat husbandry.

Kangaroos: Kangaroos and wallabies (macropods) are native species. You need a permit to harvest or cull them. They can be dangerous as they will use their tail to stabilise themselves and lash out with powerful legs that have large, sharp claws.
Learn more about regulations around harvesting kangaroos and other macropods.

Poultry: Often farmed on a large scale for meat or eggs, poultry pose risks of disease. In fertilised-egg farms, roosters can use their beaks and claws to attack staff. Finely powdered faeces and urine in the sheds creates inhalation risks.
Learn more about starting a poultry farm in Queensland.

How can I manage the risk?
Workers and management can work together to reduce risks from hazards at work. A safe place of work benefits everyone. Read more about how you can create safe work.

For workers
As a worker, you have a responsibility under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 to take reasonable care for your own health and safety and for others who may be affected by what you do or don’t do. You must follow any reasonable health and safety instructions from your employer. You should use equipment properly, follow safe work policies and procedures and attend training. If something is unclear, or you are uncertain, ask for an explanation.

For businesses
For employers or persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), it’s your duty to manage animal handling risks, as outlined in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

Following the four-step risk management process below will help your business meet its responsibilities under work health and safety laws. You can also use the practical advice in the How to manage work health and safety risks code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.65 MB) .