There are always risks involved when you are working with livestock. It is important that you have a process in place that is conducive to safe handling of livestock on farms, utilising high quality livestock safety products that help to increase safety levels for both the animals and the human handlers. Accidents involving livestock can cause injuries that are hard to overcome for handlers, having a serious impact on a person’s ability to return to work and make a living on a livestock farm. On the other side, injury and illness to an animal due to poor livestock handling procedures and products can cause long-term damage to the health of the herd, and damage long-term profits as a result.

It is important to have a set up in place that works before you go anywhere near handling livestock. This should come from the top in every farm, with the right type of livestock handling products and cleaning products used to ensure that animals are treated in the correct manner at all times. Have in mind what you plan to do should there be a problem when working with animals. You should always know the safe routes in an out should an animal become aggressive when unrestrained.

Of course, the procedures on how to handle livestock will differ from animal to animal, it will also change according to whether that particular animal has had much recent experience of being handled, or whether it has suffered from illness recently, or shown signs of being tense, agitated or stressed. There are so many different factors to consider in order to keep you and the animals safe during livestock handling procedures.

The next thing to consider is the handling facilities with which you are reliant on. These should always be well maintained, cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis, using livestock safety products that ensure the highest quality of hygiene at all times. This is an important aspect of handling livestock as it means there is a maintenance of integrity to the animals’ welfare. Gates should be hung properly in order for them to open fully against a pen wall in collecting pens. The pen and race should be designed in a way to promote the free and easy movement of cattle whilst ensuring workers are safe from being crushed.

There are many processes you can put in place to minimise the risk of disease spreading on the farm – between animals, as well as from animals to humans. Animals should be vaccinated and put through rigorous health processes from birth through to the end of their life on the farm. Personal protective clothing should be worn at all appropriate times, as well as there being a clear pathway throughout the site for different animals, humans, vehicles, and a clear separation of all different entities to ensure there is no spread of infection, illness, or disease.

Always work with suppliers of livestock safety products that stand up to the tests of livestock handling and the potential pitfalls and accidents that can take place, with potential risk to both animal and handlers.