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Can understanding animal psychology make you a better farm worker?

Posted 24/10/2014

Can understanding animal psychology make you a better farm worker? That was the aim of a recent workshop held at Askham Bryan College, York, on Thursday. 

The modernisation of farms has meant increasingly fewer workers coming into contact with animals. The lack of contact can lead to an increase in accidents involving cattle, since workers are unable to understand their behaviour. A knowledge of animal psychology could help reduce these incidents. 

The workshop was hosted by the IOSH Rural Industries Group and Farm Safety Partnership; delegates were taught topics such as how to handle cattle on footpaths, common behavioural issues and the best types of facilities needed to handle cattle. 

IOSH Rural Industries Group member and Farm Safety Partnership’s Livestock Safety Group chair, Gwyn Barlow, said: "The way of handling cattle though has evolved. Cattle have less human interaction now due to there being less staff on farms than there used to be, so it’s quite a different situation. [...]Understanding the psychology of the animal, and how handling looks from the animal’s perspective, is becoming more and more important."