Australia Post has issued another warning to dog owners to secure their pets after data revealed an average of 55 Aussie posties are falling victim to dog attacks each week.
The have been more than 1420 dog attacks on mail delivery people in the past six months, a rate of around 11 per day. While you might think larger dogs are to blame for most of the incidents, Australia Post says it’s mostly smaller dogs who are responsible. Perhaps a bit of small man syndrome?
The data also revealed around half of all incidents take place on a customer’s property, with one in three occurring at the customer’s front door.
Thirty-four per cent of cases happened on a public street. Dogs with their owner account for eight per cent of those incidents, and the remaining 26 per cent involved a dog who escaped a property to attack a Postie or was roaming the street.
Australia Post revealed the suburbs in each state where posties are most likely to encounter dog attacks:
Queensland (466 incidents) – Stafford, Darra, and Bundamba
New South Wales (408) – Ingleburn, Tamworth and Lidcombe
Western Australia (215) – Rockingham, Bunbury and Gwelup
Victoria (166) – Healesville, Nunawading and Ferntree Gully
South Australia (114) – Glynde, Edinburgh North and Salisbury South
Northern Territory (23) – Winnellie, Palmerston and Katherine
Tasmania (16) – Eastern Shore Hobart and Launceston
Australian Capital Territory (15) – Fyshwick, Mitchell and Tuggeranong
Rod Maule, Australia Post General Manager of Safety and Wellbeing, says its important posties feel safe while performing their duties.
“Australia Post is calling on dog owners to take responsibility for their pets,” he said.
“Customers must understand that for many posties, it can be stressful or triggering knowing that your delivery round may involve a dog that shows aggressive behaviour. Our team members just want to be able to deliver for our customers, without being attacked, harassed, or chased by dogs.”
Has your dog ever attacked the postie?
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