Australia Post warns millions of people as postmen continue to be ‘attacked’

Australia Post is urging dog owners to keep their pets indoors after it was revealed that around 55 postal workers across the country have encounters with unwanted dogs every week – some of them suffering serious injuries while delivering their mail.

According to a new study by Australia Post, there have been over 1,400 dog-related incidents in the past six months in which postal workers have been either “attacked, harassed or chased by dogs”.

Most of these incidents occur on the street, where dogs are unattended or have escaped from the house, and up to 15 percent of mail carriers are bitten while simply putting mail in the mailbox.

While there is no particular breed that is more prone to attack, smaller dogs tend to behave more aggressively towards postmen, Australia Post explained.

“Customers need to understand that it can be stressful or provocative for many postal workers to know that their delivery round may involve a dog displaying aggressive behaviour,” said Rod Maule, General Manager of Safety and Wellbeing at AusPost. “Our team members simply want to be able to deliver for our customers without being attacked, harassed or chased by dogs.”

Postman remembers ‘painful’ dog bite while delivering letters

The investigation follows a warning issued by Australia Post last year after a rise in the number of dog attacks was reported. A Sydney postman recalled his “painful” encounter with a dog while delivering letters to its owner.

“I tried to walk away, but the customer looked at his mail and released the larger dog, which then lunged at me and bit me in the leg,” he recalled. “The skin was broken, it was bleeding a lot, yes, it was quite painful. I was quite shocked.”

Queensland records the highest number of dog attacks

Postal workers in Queensland continue to have the highest number of dog-related incidents at work, with 466 cases recorded in the last six months. New South Wales followed closely behind with 408 incidents, followed by Western Australia with 215.

Postal workers have been instructed to simply not deliver mail to private homes if a dog continues to display threatening behavior. If the problem persists, the authorities will be notified.

Tips for protecting postmen

• Keep the entrance gates firmly closed.

• Keep dogs in the back yard rather than the front yard and keep all side gates tightly closed.

• Keep dogs in another room while you open the door to receive packages or deliveries.

• Consider using parcel lockers.

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