Limousin drive up dangers for cattle farmers
The Health and Safety Authority regularly warns farmers to be extremely careful when handling animals, because of the risks involved.
But their statistics don’t tell the full risk story of the various cattle breeds.
Any livestock farmer is almost certain to single out one breed of which he is fearful.
Many will go further and tell you that Limousin animals should carry a “danger: keep away” warning around their neck, because of their unpredictable temperament, which can make them extremely difficult to handle.
It would be hard to meet a cattle farmer who cannot relate a frightening and often injurious situation experienced personally or by a friend at the receiving end of a Limousin.
There is no denying that Limousins are good quality beef animals, profitable in beef production. But so many of them have revealed an undesirable temperament on farms, in marts, in cattle crushes, or during transport, that their presence on farms carries an extra danger money cost.
The Irish Limousin Cattle Society are well aware of the dangers.
To their credit, they have been endeavouring to rank the breed blood lines for temperament, and some improvement is noticeable in the breed in recent years.
But, the rate of progress is slow and “breeding out” what appears to be an unwanted trait is not easy.
With cattle so strongly implicated in our disastrous Irish farm safety record, livestock remains a principal cause of injury, more even rigorous culling of undesirable cattle blood lines may be necessary.
