Loading livestock can be a dangerous task, with injuries far too commonplace, yet data shows that many incidents go unreported.
According to a 2020 survey by the Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of Victoria (LRTAV), only about 30% of these types of incidents and injuries were reported to bodies such as Worksafe.
This is alarming given that 63 per cent of respondents said that they or their staff had sustained injuries requiring medical treatment, that hadn’t been formally reported. To add, 79 per cent of respondents hadn’t reported unsafe facilities to a workplace safety regulator.
The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) is now conducting a national survey on the issue.
If you’re a livestock operator involved in loading or unloading, they want to hear from you.
The ALRTA survey seeks to build on the LRTAV survey. It is hoped that data collected through the survey may help to influence facility owners to review safety, upgrade facilities or install new facilities to meet the recently published National Standard (AS 5340:2020) Livestock Loading Ramps and Forcing Pens.
All data collected is anonymous and the survey is open until March 26, 2021. The survey can be accessed by clicking here.