ACC pays $70m a year for animal-related injuries

Robert Pattullo is among Kiwis injured by animals. He had a close encounter of the painful kind with a bull on his farm last February. Photo / File

Animal-related injuries cost ACC about $70 million in both 2017 and 2018 respectively with dogs, horses, cattle and sheep proving to be some of the most common foes that left people hurting.

There have been more than 20,000 dog-related injury claims in each of the past three years, according to ACC statistics.

Chatham Islands woman Rose Page was attacked by a family pig hunting dog on November 14.

She tried to break up a group of he dogs fightings and one grabbed onto her arm.

In the same month, three dogs brutally attacked a woman in Opotiki, leaving her battling critical injuries.

The dogs, who belonged to her brother, left cuts on her head, neck, abdomen and legs.

In July last year, Oliver Beaumont was mauled by two rottweilers in Winton in an attack that lasted about five minutes and left extensive cuts on his face.

Beaumont, who is autistic, had been approached by the dogs while walking near his family's home.

An SPCA spokeswoman said there were some essential advice to bear in mind when around dogs:

• Don't approach a dog you don't know.

• Always supervise children and dogs.

• Educate children about dog safety from a young age and don't allow them to approach unfamiliar dogs.

• Remember all dogs have the potential to bite irrespective of breed.

There were 7680 horse-related injury claims last year, down from 8272 in 2017.

There were 3440 cattle-related injury claims last year, down from 3587 the year before.

In August last year, two people were hurt in south Auckland's Totara Park by a herd of agitated cows.

In October, an elderly man was kicked in the head by a cow and admitted to Whangarei Hospital before his condition deteriorated.

Federated Farmers National president Katie Milne said cattle, sheep and deer were animals farmers commonly needed to know how to handle, approach and judge the moods of.

"They have got minds of their own."

Spatial awareness and planning an exit route when doing work in a yard was important, she said.

"When you get into a certain zone, they are either going to fight or flee.

"Deer are classic, they are getting better and better as they are more and more domesticated but they really can be quite skittery and panicky."

Farmers who work with deer tended to know exactly what they were in for, she said.

At certain times of year, such as when cows are calving, people needed to be mindful that animals would be more agitated, she said.

"You have to be careful when you are handling them, not to get between the cow and the calf," Milne said.

"Keeping dogs and small children away from them when they are calving is generally good practice because they might have a go at the smallest thing there rather than the biggest thing first."

Cattle could weigh up to 1000kg, even smaller animals might be 300 or 400kg. Milne said animals had a lot more mass than humans.

"They have very thick bones and legs if they kick and they also have very thick heads for a head clash if they try and bunt you.

"We do know over the years there have been people who have been killed by cattle."

Slips and trips when evading a close call could also be common, she said.