‘Five a day’: Australia Post’s plea to stop attacks on posties

Australia Post is delivering more parcels than ever before, but the company has revealed posties are being subjected to sickening attacks every day.

Australia Post has made a desperate plea after discovering that, on average, five posties are attacked every day.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the national postal service revealed that its workers had been involved in 1173 incidents so far this financial year alone.

The company said that was a “steep” increase compared to the same period last financial year, with just 957 incidents recorded then.

And the reason for it? Dogs.

“Australia Post’s posties and drivers deliver record volumes of parcels amid increased pet ownership across the country,” the statement said.

Queensland, NSW and Western Australia are the worst states for posties to work for this reason.

Australia Post warned that although guard dogs attack mail deliverers in front yards, they have also been known to come out onto footpaths and roads.

Tony Gadsby, who has spent more than 20 years delivering mail and parcels on his motorbike, was recently the victim of a dog bite while covering a new route.

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Thousands of posties have been subjected to these attacks.

Australia Post has released images of some of the injuries.

Tony Gadsby has worked at Australia Post for 20 years and a dog recently attacked him.

“It was unexpected so I just didn’t have time to prepare – the dog just raced past me. It was a shock, and it has made me more vigilant going to doors,” Mr Gadsby said.

“It’s common for people to say ‘it never bites’ but as a dog owner myself I know they can be unpredictable, and I’d urge fellow owners to just take that extra moment to make sure their dog is not going to be a danger to someone just doing their job.”

Australia Post executive general manager Rod Barnes urged dog owners to secure their pets to avoid his team members being hurt and traumatised.

Dogs are turning their jobs into unsafe workplaces.

More posties have been attacked this year than any other year.

They have been bitten on arms and legs.

The issue is getting worse according to Australia Post.

“It can sometimes be difficult to imagine that an otherwise friendly family pet might pose a risk to others, but the reality is that our people are being hurt or placed in danger on a daily basis,” Mr Barnes said.

“These incidents can be traumatic for our team members and have lasting effects not only in terms of physical injury but also their mental health, and they may no longer feel safe delivering to locations where incidents have occurred.

“Even if a dog doesn’t bite, it can cause a serious accident by running in front of a postie or driver in an electric delivery vehicle, and that can also result in an injury to your pet. So we’re really asking that people remember to shut their gates, keep their pets secured and help make sure our people can deliver their parcels and mail to them safely.”

Footage of a postie being threatened by a pooch.

Dogs have also been known to chase postmen off their territory.

The attacks have occurred on roads and footpaths, not just front yards.

Dogs can also run in front of deliverers, causing accidents. Picture: NCA NewsWire/John Gass

The shocking statistics around dog attacks has prompted Australia Post to launch a new awareness campaign called, “Even good dogs have bad days”.

Veterinarian Dr Katrina Warren said dogs could be trying to guard their territory and because the postie always leaves quickly after making their delivery, the dog may feel that barking at them or even chasing them has worked.

“The problem is the postie always comes back, so your dog will bark at them again to make them go away but after a while your dog may up the ante and bark more, growl, lunge or even bite to ensure your postie really gets the picture,” Dr Warren said.

She encouraged owners to place their dogs so that they couldn’t see the approaching mail deliverer, and to leash them.