Queensland is home to the nation’s hotspots for dog attacks on posties.
New figures from Australia Post show there were 505 attacks in the Sunshine State over the past six months, with the Brisbane suburbs of Darra and Stafford, and Toowoomba, on the Darling Downs, home to the highest number of incidents nationally.
Australia Post General Manager of Safety and Wellbeing Rod Maule has called on local council’s to implementing stronger measures to prevent dog attacks, including increased monitoring and enforcement of animal management laws.
Mr Maule said, nationally, more than 49 posties a week had fallen victim to dog-related incidents in the past six months, with fears these numbers would rise in the lead up to holiday season.
“In the past six months, 1277 dog-related incidents have occurred nationwide, despite Australia Post’s pleas for dog owners to take responsibility for their pets,” he said.
“As a result, Australia Post is calling on local councils to enforce restrictions and local animal management laws to ensure the safety of posties and the community.”
Mr Maule said the new data highlighted a clear and consistent trend of aggressive behaviour, with one in three dog-related incidents continuing to occur at the customer’s front door during parcel deliveries, increasing the risk to posties ahead of the busy upcoming Black Friday sales and Christmas season.
He said to help mitigate continued threats, all posties were equipped with a hazard device to log aggressive dog behaviour, with more serious cases alerted to councils.
“There are currently more than 29,000 active dog-related hazards nationally.
“Aggressive or dangerous dogs are reported to council and local rangers, however too often we see risks are not properly mitigated. This often leads to multiple instances of the same dog repeating aggressive behaviour, which can result in a severe attack on our postie.”
Mr Maule said as the holiday season approached, dog owners needed to be mindful that all visitors, including posties, should have safe access to the front door without being stopped by a dog.
“Dog ownership comes with responsibilities, and we need council support to effectively enforce laws and regulations to ensure the safety of our people.”
He said Queensland continued to be the worst state in the country for dog-related incidents on posties, and the following delivery areas had been identified as having the highest number of incidents nationally:
- Queensland (505) – Darra, Stafford, Toowoomba.
- New South Wales (367) – Lidcombe, Alexandria, Ingleburn.
- Western Australia (152) – Rockingham, Nedlands, Geraldton and Bunbury.
- Victoria (114) – Caroline Springs, Hoppers Crossing, Mooroolbark.
- South Australia (90) – Glynde, Edinburgh North, Lonsdale.
- Northern Territory (24) – Darwin, Katherine, Alice Springs and Palmerston.
- Tasmania (22) – Launceston, Rokeby, Burnie and Hobart.
- Australian Capital Territory (3) – Queanbeyan, Mitchell, Tuggeranong.
Australia Post has the following tip for dog owners:
- Always keep front gates securely closed.
- Where possible, secure dogs in the back garden (rather than the front) and keep any side gates securely closed.
- Keep your dogs leashed on the street and at a safe distance from a postie.
- If you are expecting a delivery, be careful when opening your front door, make sure your dog doesn’t run out from behind you. Securing them in another room is a great way to prevent this.
- If properly securing your dog is not possible, consider using 24/7 Parcel Lockers.
