Shark attacks may be dominating news headlines after the tragic death of a surfer but Australians are more than 20 times more likely to be hospitalised by a cat or horse than a shark.
And the animal most likely to land Aussies in the emergency department is usually found in suburban backyards, not the outback or ocean.
New data from iSelect revealed that animal-related injuries accounted for almost six per cent of hospital admissions between 2023 and 2024.
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But the animals most responsible for sending Aussies to hospital might not be what you’d expect.
Dogs topped the list after causing 10,345 hospitalisations between 2023 and 2024.
In fact, dogs made up more than 30 per cent of all recorded animal-related hospitalisations in that period.
Other mammals, including cats, horses and other farm animals, ranked second with 5306 hospitalisations.
More than 2200 Aussies were hospitalised after being bitten or crushed by reptiles other than venomous snakes, which came in fourth place and accounted for 802 hospitalisations.
Non-venomous insects and arthropods ranked fifth, followed by spiders in sixth place and venomous marine animals and plants in seventh.
Contact with plant thorns and spines and sharp leaves (which count as living things) was eighth with more than 400 hospitalisations.
Sharks were way down the bottom of the list, lumped in with other marine animals at ninth place with 270 hospitalisations total.
Of course, the effects from a shark bite can be catastrophic, with an average of just under three fatalities per year from attacks over the last decade.
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Finally, contact with venomous arthropods, excluding spiders, ranked tenth.
So while sharks may seem scary, it’s actually Fido landing most Aussies in the emergency department.
And that probably shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Australia Post revealed in June that posties experienced 44 dog attacks every week in the first six months of 2025 – equivalent to nine daily.
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Data released last year from the National Coronial Information System revealed that dogs are among the deadliest animals in Australia.
They contributed to 82 deaths from 2001 to 2021, 38 of those due to bites.
The only animals that recorded more deaths in that period were cows and horses.
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