Two Australian-made “K9 Kube” hydraulic transport cages have been installed on council utes, which allow rangers to load animals in at ground level, reducing the need to lift heavy weights and minimising the risk of bites.

“This is a lot better, especially if the dog in uncooperative or aggressive,” ranger Ken Astrup said. “There is a technique to get front paws on a ute then the back legs up, but you sometimes need help and this reduces lifting face-to-face. It’s a great bit of kit.”

Wagga City Council rangers hailed the technology as a positive step towards minimising animal stress and improving work health and safety.

City compliance coordinator Brett Burt said the cages had been used to transport 54 dogs in a five-week period by rangers.

“Some of the heaviest dogs were a mastiff who weighed more than 70kg and a very overweight labrador of about the same weight,” Mr Burt said. “Manually lifting and unloading these sometimes struggling dogs can be dangerous to the rangers and increases the likelihood of injuries considerably. With safety in mind, one ranger of any size or shape can lift a dog single-handedly, with nearly zero chance of being bitten or sustaining musculo-skeletal injury.”

The technology reduced the stress on the animals as well, Mr Burt said.

Compliance manager Mark Gardiner said with about 1000 dogs going to the Glenfield Road Animal Shelter every year, there was a need to invest in the “effective and efficient” technology.