Handling livestock in a safe manner is crucial on any farm to prevent accidents, injuries and fatalities. Large livestock pose a threat to our safety. Specifically, bulls are one of the most dangerous animals that can be kept on the farm.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and the Surveillance of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses databases, 48% of cattle-related fatalities were caused by bulls. While bulls account for only 2% of cattle nationwide, they are large, filled with adrenaline and testosterone, and can inflict injury in seconds either intentionally or by accident. Dairy bulls are often considered more aggressive and dangerous than beef bulls, although both should be treated similarly with caution.
Keep bulls off the farm
The best way to avoid the dangers associated with bulls is to not keep bulls on the farm premises. Artificial insemination allows for on-time breeding while reducing the risk to people and cows. Leasing bulls represents a potential biosecurity risk but could limit how many days your operation has a bull on-farm.
If a bull is kept on the farm, strict safety practices should be followed. Extra precautions should be taken to ensure bulls do not escape, such as checking your fences more often or potentially reinforcing pens. Never allow children to work with a bull. If you are moving the bull, do so under calm conditions and always have an escape plan.
When visiting someone else’s farm, it doesn’t hurt to ask if they have a bull on-site. Many dangerous situations are created by simply not knowing there is a bull on the farm. If you have a bull on your farm, tell visitors there is a bull on-site and where he is located. A “Bull on Premises” sign also serves as a helpful alert.
Bull aggression
It is important to remember that even nice bulls that were bottle-fed as calves can get more aggressive with age. Bulls don’t need to have a history of aggression; an attack can happen at any time, to anyone, with any bull. Maintain constant vigilance whenever there is a bull around and pay attention to the bull’s body language. Signs of aggression in bulls include: bellowing, pawing at the ground, pacing, heavy breathing or huffing, and the bull turning broadside to present their size and power. Never turn your back on a bull, even if you think it’s not paying attention to you; bulls can and will attack unprovoked.
No one should ever completely trust a bull due to the possibility of an attack, but just as important is situational awareness to prevent accidental injury from working with these immense animals. Bulls, just like all cattle, are prey species, and when scared, bulls can unintentionally hurt humans working with them due to their size and strength. A bull can send a gate hurtling back at the cattle handler with even a casual toss of their head. A running bull just brushing the handler can cause serious injury. When multiple bulls are in the same area, especially if they are not familiar with each other, there is the potential for a confrontation between the bulls. Fighting bulls do not care what is in their way. Equipment, fence, fenceposts, buildings and people are all at risk of being damaged.
Stay calm
Proper low-stress cattle handling can prevent many bull-related human injuries. Calm, clear and unthreatening direction for the bulls will prevent activation of the fight or flight response. Before entering the bull’s pen or pasture, have an escape plan. Calmly and as quietly as possible make sure the bull knows you are there; surprising a bull is a bad idea. Pairing the bull with other cattle when moving them can keep them calmer, especially if the bull is not used to the working facility, the people or being handled.
Bull safety should never be an afterthought on your farm. If there is a bull on the premises, use the practices outlined above. Exercising caution with bulls reduces risk for everyone on the farm.
Joe Armstrong co-wrote this article while employed with University of Minnesota Extension as a cattle production systems extension educator.
