OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY WHEN HANDLING FARM ANIMALS

In 2021, 12,088 accidents involving animals were reported to the Regional Branches and Local Units of KRUS in Poland: 10.2% more than in 2020. The most common causes of such accidents are poor housing conditions and a lack of knowledge about how to handle them, the latter of which is exacerbated by high employee turnover and a lack of adequate training. Employee training should cover animal welfare assessment, dealing with animals, the use of personal and collective protective equipment, as well as first aid and biological hazard assessment. To maintain a good standard of occupational safety on a farm, the conditions for rearing and breeding animals, and the rules of their operation, should be reviewed on an ongoing basis. Bulls, stallions, boars, rams and goats prone to kicking and biting are considered dangerous animals and special precautions should be taken when handling them. Only a good knowledge of basic animal behaviour, together with improved animal welfare, proper handling practices, and the use of appropriate containment equipment, will ensure safe handling of animals. Currently, all work with animals is governed by the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on Occupational Health and Safety when Handling Farm Animals dated 4 August 2017 (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 1692).