Bid to cut risk from on-farm accidents

With anecdotal reports of more and more on-farm accidents being caused through clipping cattle before they are sent to market or to the abattoir, NFU Scotland has indicated they will be collating data on the problem.

The reason for clipping is that farmers are required to present animals in as clean a condition as possible when they are entering the food chain. This occasionally requires dirty hair to be removed from the animals.

Clipping cattle on-farm before presenting them for slaughter is hazardous and a number of Scottish farmers are hurt each year - including some that are severely injured - while getting their animals ready for selling.

With the support of the Health and Safety Executive, the union will be distributing an injury report form and encouraging anyone injured while carrying out cattle clipping to fill out and return the form, anonymously if they wish, to NFUS.

From this data, the union will then discuss the results with HSE in due course. The union is keen to promote developments in on-line clipping facilities that would see dirty cattle clipped postmortem at the abattoir as an alternative to clipping on-farm.

To date, the only abattoir in Scotland to have installed on-line clipping facilities is the ABP Perth plant.

Union livestock policy manager Penny Johnston said she believed the incidence of injuries brought about by cattle clipping is generally thought to be under-reported, with many farmers worrying about logging such incidents with the authorities for fear of follow-up inspections or reprisals.

"While cattle clipping on-farm is likely to remain a requirement for most cattle finishers this autumn and winter, the availability of a post-slaughter clipping facility at abattoirs would reduce the risk of injury to farmers and animals."

She said there would also be knock-on benefits to meat quality of such an approach.

"This is not a green light to producers to start consigning dirty cattle to the food chain but would help to address the considerable health and safety concerns around clipping animals live on farm.

"That is a dangerous job and farmers across the country are crying out for an alternative."