latest data on bull attacks

Help Support CattleToday:

townfarmer

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 27, 2009
Messages
468
Reaction score
0
Location
Eukey Australia
I came across an interesting article titled " Bull related incidences: Their Prevalence and Nature" that was published in July this year in the Journal of Agromedicine. According to data collected over the past three years and based on hours of exposure there is greater risk of a bull related fatality than any other known agricultural hazard. The areas with the greatest numbers of bull related injuries are Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. The two biggest offending breeds are holstein and angus although the authors point out that they are the most prevalent breeds in North America so the data doesn't necessarily mean they are the most aggressive.

The authors of the article made an interesting comment in their recommendations. They said:

" There appears to be diminishing respect or awareness of the hazards regarding handling bulls. The data analyzed here suggests that, in many cases, the victims were overly confidant as to their bull handling skills or were unaware of the potential risks associated with mature bulls or bulls in the presence of cows being bred."

I'm assuming this lack of respect for bulls comes from people getting into cattle as a hobby or a lifestyle who didn't get the education about cattle from their parents or grandparents. When you go to a show the bulls all look like big gentle labradors being led around on a leash. There will be trouble if you treat your bull like a labrador.

I'll try and post a link to the full text of the article.

Andrew
 
I'm assuming this lack of respect for bulls comes from people getting into cattle as a hobby or a lifestyle who didn't get the education about cattle from their parents or grandparents

I think it has more to do with complacency. In the same category that we all tend at times to neglect little safety things that we know we should do but skip "just this once"
 
dun":i2is5i6p said:
I'm assuming this lack of respect for bulls comes from people getting into cattle as a hobby or a lifestyle who didn't get the education about cattle from their parents or grandparents

I think it has more to do with complacency. In the same category that we all tend at times to neglect little safety things that we know we should do but skip "just this once"

We've also seen many that post here that refer to their bulls as "pets". Bulls are very dangerous creatures...
 
grannysoo":1z03n1xf said:
dun":1z03n1xf said:
I'm assuming this lack of respect for bulls comes from people getting into cattle as a hobby or a lifestyle who didn't get the education about cattle from their parents or grandparents

I think it has more to do with complacency. In the same category that we all tend at times to neglect little safety things that we know we should do but skip "just this once"

We've also seen many that post here that refer to their bulls as "pets". Bulls are very dangerous creatures...
Those are the ones that fall into the category of: "lack of respect for bulls comes from people getting into cattle as a hobby or a lifestyle who didn't get the education about cattle from their parents or grandparents"
Even if they didn;t learn from someone they're in the "lack of respect" category probably through naivete
 
I'm a hobby farmer. We've got some land and some cattle because we want our kids to grow up having access to the rural lifestyle. I grew up spending all my holidays at my grandfather's and uncles farms. It's something I'm very thankfull for and I want my kids to have those same experiences. When it comes to cattle I'm a beginer, novice, newby you name it. However one thing I had enforced to me as a kid running around on relatives farms was never trust a bull. I still have their words imprinted in my brain:

"Never turn your back on a bull"

"Always keep a fence between yourself and a bull"

"Even a quiet bull can be dangerous"

At the moment I'm very careful around our bull but I guess as Dun said there's always the danger of becoming complacent as time goes on.

Andrew
 
I have a new hereford bull in the field, 5 plus years old and very mellow..I have spent many hours watching him and he know me well...He never gets into a hurry, seams to have only one speed slow...I do not push him or rush in to close and anytime I get to within 30 feet ,I can tell he gets uneasy...SO I DO NOT PUSH HIM...My friend who also raises cattle for over 20 years, loves this bull..Evey time my friend gets into the field he tries to pet this bull, I tell him to leave him alone, he saies It will be O.K....I like my friend have know him for over 40 years , BUT, SOMETHIMES YOU JUST CAN NOT FIX STUPID.....Leave bulls alone, they are not pets, they will kill you...THERE BOUND TO BE SOME ONE ON THIS SITE THAT THINKS DIFFERENT...go ahead voice up..
 
I'd agree with dun and the originally cited article even says "victims generally appeared to have had considerable experience with handling bulls".

You don't have to grow up on a farm to learn to be cautious of bulls. Just watch any cartoon or stereotype of cattle in a movie and you'll get the idea bulls are much meaner than they actually are. In fact, I'd say growing up around cattle would tend to lead to a person being much more complacent around bulls than lack of exposure.
 
I would like to be able to argue this point but I just can not. We have shown bulls that we we were able to brush, wash, hand feed, walk in to the ring. Many/most were very friendly, easy to break. However testosterone and or shear strength eventually wins over. The presumed safest bull out there is only one small head but away from killing someone. Therefore we never take them for granted. The day they are turned out to pasture? we even keep more distance, no matter how friendly they are. They do not even have to be mean or decide to turn on you. They can kill you even when they are feeling their oats. So no we never trust them. My son who is now 21 and knows much better, once walked into a stall (at age 8) with a yearling that had been halter broke , infact we brushed him and messed with him every day. This bull head butted him over a fence amd into a water tub. Then just looked at the boy :nod: leson learned.
 
1 thing to remember when working or moving more than 1 bull is they are more afraid and have more respect for each other than they do you
they have their pecking order worked out
I have seen more people come close to getting hurt or getting hurt by a bull trying to get away from another bull than the bull intentionally trying to hurt a person

No matter how big they are they can still move faster than you and they can destroy anything in their way
 
A fellow breeder has a plaque at the fence to enter the main handling facility...

"The bull can get to the fence in under 5 seconds... can you?"

...I always read it when we have been on their property and think of it as a good reminder.
 
If you have sons or even brothers just think back on all the changes they went thru growing up....or what even you went thru growing up....when the testosterone hit, when they developed "the attitude" and then were grown men...all the influences...."women"...jealousy....anger...now apply it to a bull and multiply it by 10 times the size of your son. Not all are fighters or killers but all have everything there to become that way. All they need is a "trigger".
 
TexasBred":1u6k47q7 said:
If you have sons or even brothers just think back on all the changes they went thru growing up....or what even you went thru growing up....when the testosterone hit, when they developed "the attitude" and then were grown men...all the influences...."women"...jealousy....anger...now apply it to a bull and multiply it by 10 times the size of your son. Not all are fighters or killers but all have everything there to become that way. All they need is a "trigger".

Very good post. If a bull was like my young adulthood, mmmmmmm
 
Some people get hurt or even killed because they are stupid and are trying to do something with a bull they shouldn't be doing; but a lot of folks who get hurt or killed are actually doing something that needs to be done. Everybody who has ever vaccinated, dewormed, loaded, fed, treated, moved, or rotated a bull between pastures, or even checked cows in a pasture that had a bull in the field exposed him/herself to a certain degree of risk. You CAN get yourself killed in this business. While good technique, good facilities, work cattle on horseback instead of on foot, cull truly mean spirited cattle in the herd, etc can diminish the risk....there IS always some risk. At some point you have too just accept the fact that there IS some risk and move on.
 
I don't think they even really have to be all that "mean". We all have seen that boss cow (or bull) launch herself into the side of a subordinate animal.....just to show that she/he is the higher ranking animal and is entitled too lick on the salt block FIRST. A 1200++ cow can take that power shot to the ribs.....after getting knocked back six foot. If they get to deliver that shot to a 140 pound person who wasn't paying attention, the person is liable to be lying in a pen with six broken ribs and maybe a punctured lung. The cow wasn't thinking about killing somebody, they just wanted what they wanted at that second (get out of the pen, cubes, dominance, sex, their calf, too fight/flee a rival), and some goofy farmer type was in their way.
 
Brandonm22":3icnzu6q said:
Some people get hurt or even killed because they are stupid and are trying to do something with a bull they shouldn't be doing; but a lot of folks who get hurt or killed are actually doing something that needs to be done. Everybody who has ever vaccinated, dewormed, loaded, fed, treated, moved, or rotated a bull between pastures, or even checked cows in a pasture that had a bull in the field exposed him/herself to a certain degree of risk. You CAN get yourself killed in this business. While good technique, good facilities, work cattle on horseback instead of on foot, cull truly mean spirited cattle in the herd, etc can diminish the risk....there IS always some risk. At some point you have too just accept the fact that there IS some risk and move on.

i had a bull that was real gentle and i needed to load him in the trailer.
so i got him in the pen with the trailer and put some feed in the back trailer and had planned on getting out and let him go in the trailer for the feed, but when i had my back turned he jumped in the trailer with me.
i slid out, but that was one of the stupidest things i've done.
 
We are a commercial operation and have a lot of bulls, 70 maybe. Most of them are charolais and charbray - but we also have half a dozen black angus. These are the ones we respect the most! The old charolais are pretty even tempered, the charbray are chosen carefully for temperament as it can be dodgy. The angus are dead quiet to poke around mostly, big shiney puppy dog eyes, you could pat them standing in the yards if you wanted to (but we don't!) .... but just let something not suit them and they become very dangerous. If they don't want to be included in the muster, they'll stand and posture, keep persisting with them and they'll chase you....and keep coming! I've never been chased by a charolais or charbray bull. Because our paddocks are large, bulls tend to live in a certain part with their mob of cows and maybe another bull or two. When you gather them all together to bring them in, some spectacular fights break out which disrupt the whole process. Sometimes they don't let up and have to be left behind, just too dangerous to mess with. Plenty of people dreaming along on the tail of a large mob of cattle have had a rude awakening when a bull fight busts out the back! A beaten bull will then bolt off, taking a string of cows with him which makes for some fast riding to get them back. Cows don't like meeting up with cattle outside their "group" and do plenty of fighting too until they knock up a bit.
 
I can't find the full text of the original article anywhere online (even google scholar came up empty). I can however email a copy to anyone who is interested. Let me know if you'd like a copy.

Andrew
 

Latest posts

Top