{"id":279188,"date":"2025-11-12T05:24:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T05:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/279188\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T05:24:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T05:24:13","slug":"almost-150-dog-attacks-reported-by-ergon-energy-workers-across-queensland-in-12-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/279188\/","title":{"rendered":"Almost 150 dog attacks reported by Ergon Energy workers across Queensland in 12 months"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warning: This story contains images that some readers may find confronting.<\/p>\n

Meter readers and maintenance workers are being left with debilitating injuries from dog attacks across Queensland, prompting an appeal from the state’s energy provider.<\/p>\n

Over the past 12 months, 289 incidents were reported by Ergon statewide \u2014 including 148 dog attacks, 60 incidents involving wildlife, and 81 threats from the public.<\/p>\n

Sixty-nine of the dog attacks occurred in the south-east corner of Queensland.<\/p>\n

\"Blood<\/p>\n

There were 148 dog attacks, with some resulting in serious and debilitating injuries. (Supplied: Ergon Energy)<\/p>\n

Ergon metering contracts manager Sarah Bradford said just last week a meter reader in Mackay was injured after being approached by two dogs.<\/p>\n

“He received medical treatment and was very, very lucky,” she said.\"Injury<\/p>\n

A meter reader in Mackay was injured after being approached by two dogs last week. (Supplied: Ergon Energy)<\/p>\n

The data’s release follows last month’s inquest into the 2022 mauling death of Energy Queensland meter reader Kane Minion<\/a>, with a Queensland coroner now considering the circumstances that led to the attack.<\/p>\n

Ms Bradford said it had thrust the issue back into headlines.<\/p>\n

“[That incident] certainly does bring it to light … our policy has been around for a long period of time, that’s why we’re so passionate about enforcing it,” she said.<\/p>\n

“If dogs aren’t restrained, we won’t be coming in.”<\/p>\n

\"Blurred<\/p>\n

One employee faced brutal injuries after being attacked by a dog in the field. (Supplied: Ergon Energy)<\/p>\n

Injuries continue despite safe entry policy<\/p>\n

In 2019, Ergon introduced a safe entry policy for workers \u2014 something the company said helped deliver a “significant reduction in incidents”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As part of the policy, field crews conduct a visual risk assessment to confirm if a dog is restrained.<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

As dog attacks continue against meter readers, Ergon Energy is calling on customers to “do their bit” to reduce injuries. (Supplied: Ergon Energy)<\/p>\n

If a fence obstructs the view, crews will leave a card advising home owners how to submit a self-meter read.<\/p>\n

Ms Bradford said the majority of people were doing the right thing by workers.<\/p>\n

\"Torn<\/p>\n

The bite of one dog was able to tear the shirt of a meter reader. (Supplied: Ergon Energy)<\/p>\n

“We’re asking the small minority who aren’t aware of our policy to understand when we come to your home, we are going to ask you to restrain your dogs or other animals,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It’s just to keep our people safe … we don’t want to pose any potential risk for incident with your animal.”<\/p>\n

\"Blood<\/p>\n

One worker was bitten by a dog near his ear. (Supplied: Ergon Energy)<\/p>\n

Over 80 public threats against workers<\/p>\n

While dog attacks dominated incidents reported by workers over the past year, abuse from customers is also posing concerns.<\/p>\n

There were 81 public threats against Energy Queensland staff across Ergon and Energex, with the majority occurring in the south-east.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As dog attacks continue to make headlines, who is responsible?<\/a><\/p>\n

A behavioural veterinarian\u00a0says there’s not usually one direct cause for dogs attacking, and owner education could help improve the rate of horror incidents.<\/p>\n

In some cases, crews have been advised by Ergon not to attend a property without a police escort.<\/p>\n

“One of the biggest threats we face in the field doesn’t have anything to do with electricity, it’s our customers,” Ms Bradford said.<\/p>\n

“Our field crews do receive abuse and threats from members of the public, these events can apply a physical and mental load for staff.<\/p>\n

“There is no excuse for abuse, threats and violence from customers have those lasting effects.”<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Energy Queensland said basic meters should be physically read at least once a \u00a0year, although unsafe access can impact that.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said smart meters are being rolled out across the state which will enable them to be read electronically.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Warning: This story contains images that some readers may find confronting. Meter readers and maintenance workers are being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[161793,161788,63414,161791,161792,43,161794,12979,161790,161789,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-279188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-customer-abuse","tag-dog-attacks","tag-energex","tag-energy-queensland","tag-ergon-energy","tag-headlines","tag-incidents","tag-injuries","tag-maintenance-workers","tag-meter-readers","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}