The danger of cows to walkers.

There was a woman killed by a cow in Belford Northumberland a few years ago. She was on the public bridleway. Sorry I don’t know how to put the link up but just type “Belford holidaymaker killed by cow” it should come up. I remember the farmer being taken to court over it. Personally I won’t go across a field with cows/bullocks in even if it is a public footpath. I know a farmer locally also has a bull loose in a field that has public footpath going through it!

One day I was out for a walk with my then partner when I realised we were walking on a footpath through a field of Highland cattle I suggested we turned back as there was no fence to keep them in he said it was fine so I turned back and went and waited in the car park while he carried on his walk
Everything was ok but there was no way I was walking through them big boys

Nicegranny

Oh dear!

The post is about public rights of way.

I have asked in the post how this could be changed for the
benefit of farmers and walkers.

I have huge respect for farmers and the countryside.

Sorry accidentally touched post.
Should read ‘are entitled to use them in the expectation that it’s safe to do so’.

toscalily
I do sense a degree of entitlement here "I will walk where I want, when I want, how I want" If the footpath is on the farmers land, you have the right of way but it is still his land

No one has suggested they are entitled to “walk where I want, when I want, how I want".
All that has been suggested is the Public Rights of Way should be safe for anyone to walk.
The Land Registry defines a public right of way as
Public rights of way are rights across land exercisable by the public, and which allow them to pass along them at any time they choose

So yes, the public, whether they are town dwellers or country dwellers, are entitled to use thrr we m

I work on a ranch so am just adding some pointers.
If cattle approach, or are too close, get aggressive. Waive your arms or walking stick. “Hey Hey Hey!”
If you run, there’s a good chance they will chase you, if out of curiosity if nothing else. Stay away from cows with brand new calves.
Cows are usually passive and avoid confrontation. However, if you have a dog, and cows have calves, they can become protective. Keep dogs leashes and away from cows with calves.

I wish people would follow the country code and respect farmers land and animals. Breeding time’s or the rut if a land owner has deer can be a very dangerous time for the public and if you think cow’s are dangerous try walking through a herd of hinds with young.
I have seen so many idiots walking through fields just because they can and it’s their right to do so it makes me angry. Where’s the respect for the countryside and it’s farming?
Go and walk in a bloody country park at certain times of the year and stay away from livestock it won’t kill you to not walk one less field with animals in it , go on another route.
Yes some people do get stupid about it’s their right to roam but they are the ignorant people who don’t understand country living.

ExDancer

Cows with calves will be protective and will attack anything they deem menacing. Usually cows on their own will just be curious, but they are big animals and can damage you without intending to.
Generally beef cows are less aggressive than dairy breeds but thats a sweeping statement and not to be relied on.
If you're in a field with cows they will tend to come over and check you out, walk slowly and don't wave your arms about or make a noise, stay by the hedge.
The best thing to do if you have a dog is to let go of it's lead, your dog can run faster than the cows and faster than you, and the cows will chase the dog.
Cows are domesticated but they are not pets (well some are, most aren't) so don't try to make friends with them or feed them.
I'm a farmer's wife and I'm not afraid of cows, but I treat them with respect and give them the space they need.

There was a thread about this last year. Someone said that it was ok to have a beef bull in a field but not a dairy bull ( or was it the other way round). The field at the back of us is part of a pilgrim route and, in the summer has cows, calves and a bull in it. The route goes right through the middle of what is a very long field with no cover. It worries me seeing walkers cutting across it. Someone was killed by cows in a nearby village.

Back in the 60s, a group of us young 'townies' used to have camping weekends in Sussex. There was a farmer (friend of the family of one of the townies) who allowed us to pitch our tents on the edge of his field of cows - in a little coppice of trees and shrubs.

In the evening, we used to walk across the field to get to the pub, and then back again much later. The cows would sometimes follow us at a distance - if we stopped and turned to look at them, they stopped following and stared back, resuming walking as we did. They lost interest as soon as we got closer to the road near the pub, or later, the coppice where we were camped.

I had absolutely no idea of the danger we might have placed ourselves in! The only advice the farmer gave us was that we should not chase them, nor make a 'din' - which we wouldn't have done anyway Apart from a little strumming of an acoustic guitar late at night with a few songs round the campfire (he allowed that, too). I admit we were respectful of both the environment and the animals, and cleared up properly before we left.

One very wet weekend, he came to visit us to see if we were coping with the weather - his wife had offered us girls their spare bedroom.

We did this for about 2 years... if I'd known then what I know now...

Sago

EllenVannin You may not be aware but known trails such as the Wolds way, Minster way etc take walkers through land grazed with cattle.
We have been near the end of a 12 mile hike to earth faced with a field full of cattle!

We don’t get up in the morning and decide we’re going to walk through random fields of cattle.

This happened to us in this area we got to the end of a walk on the Woulds only to be confronted by a bull in a field full of cows. We also encountered the same at a country house that had a marked circular walk near the end there was a bull. We had to make a big detour. We know farmers and can see it from their point of view as well though they say they always carry a stick themselves. Beef cattle do not come into contact with humans like milk cattle did and are more easily frightened.

AreWeThereYet

Our friend is a local dairy farmer. One of the fields where his herd grazes has a public right of way through it. To protect both his cattle and the public he diverted the right of way around the field and fenced it in. The new path is about 100 yards from the original path. He put up a polite sign explaining the diversion of the path. Three times walkers have broken the new fence down because 'it's their right to walk the original path as it's a public right of way'. Common sense? Not so common it seems.

No, they would like him to observe the legalities of diverting a footpath. Fencing it and putting up a new sign won't legally suffice.

I said earlier, it's not a cheap thing to do. That's why the farmer hasn't done it...

Our friend is a local dairy farmer. One of the fields where his herd grazes has a public right of way through it. To protect both his cattle and the public he diverted the right of way around the field and fenced it in. The new path is about 100 yards from the original path. He put up a polite sign explaining the diversion of the path. Three times walkers have broken the new fence down because 'it's their right to walk the original path as it's a public right of way'. Common sense? Not so common it seems.

Our son in law has a dairy farm.From their point of view they would like walkers to respect the cattle and the farmers.
Last summer so many dog walkers didn’t pick up after their dogs that the cows had to be housed in the winter sheds as the dog excrement is dangerous for the cows.

grandtantejE65, very well put indeed. At the end of the day, it all comes down to using a bit of common sense and respect. Unfortunately, those seem to be commodities which are sadly lacking in some people now.

We always only stick to Public Rights of Way when out walking in the countryside. However, as some annex a field full of cattle, we often have to retrace our steps to avoid the cattle. It's a pity that these Rights of Way are not completely fenced off, but understand that cost is probably the reason. A fence would ensure that Rights of Way could be used at all times (as per the law) and would protect any animals from walkers and/or their dogs.

Growing up in Scotland, where there is no law about trespassing - you can in principle quite legally walk anywhere you like, we were taught never to go into or across a field that had cows or any other animals in it. Usually you could find a road or path round the fields.

If not, and you decided to risk a short cut across a field with animals in it, you only did so, if the animals in question were not anything with young. And stayed near the fence so you could hop over it if things got scary.

At no time was it advisable to cross a field of Highland cattle or Aberdeen Angus.

Rams butt intruders, stallions may well attack too, goats take a wicked delight in butting people, but were largely unknown in Scotland in the 1950s.

Use your common sense and remember to CLOSE THE GATES BEHIND YOU, which seen from the stockholder's point of view is much more important than anything else.

People who grow up in towns need to be aware of the realities of country life - if a person from one of the Outer Isles that has about two cars on it , comes to Glasgow we expect him to know how to behave in traffic, so why don't we expect town people to know how to behave around animals?

Josieann

That really shook me up when I read it. We have cows roaming where we walk with the dogs and we always keep a respectful distance. I'm not sure what the best answer is for everyone, walkers and farmers.

You don’t have much choice if there’s a public footpath through them! Perhaps farmers should allow walkers to divert from the public footpath if they are grazing the field? Certainly the miserable landowners around here are very abusive if you try doing that! We farmed for years and always made sure our footpaths were accessible without risking walking through cows.

Young cows (heffers and bullocks) like all young animals are inquisitive and boisterous. They will follow you across the field psyching each other up to get closer to you. If you turn and face them they will stop and if you shoo them they will run away. As soon as you start walking again they will be back doing the same. Doesn’t matter if you have a dog or not.

Adult cows with calves are a different matter as they are very protective and can become aggressive especially if you have a dog with you. I don’t like going in a field where they are. If they chase you it’s usually the dog they are after so make for the gate, release the dog and let it fend for itself. When I was young we were walking a footpath with our collie when cows appeared and started to chase us. We let the dog off and got to a gate and climbed over. The dog leapt on to the top bar and we dragged her over. Moral if your collie is scared you should be?

I think everyone has the right to walk on public footpaths but you do need to be sensible. I wouldn`t walk in afield with cows any more than I would walk pass a pack of dogs in a park.

I am scared of cattle. It harks back to my days doing geology field trips when crossing a field where the cows and calves were up at the top of the field they decided to attack. A herd of cows attacking is the scariest sight. They are unbelievably fast, and unimaginably big and heavy especially charging downhill.

Keep out of fields with livestock especially with dogs and ensure your animals are leashed in the countryside.

I was always taught to respect the countryside and keep out of fields with animals in there. Make sure that gates are closed behind us and always be on the look out for animals with young ones. Just keep out of their fields, space etc. It isn’t hard.

greenlady102

Kali2

MaizieD

I am very curious, ExDancer about what might provoke a cow or bullock into attacking walkers?

I fully understand about cows with calves, but what other circumstances might there be? Are they territorial?

I must confess that if a load of nosey cows comes too close (like standing right in front of me!) I wave an arm and say 'git'... (I wouldn't do it to one with a calf..) and off they go.

As said above, a dog if often the key. Groups of Effers seem to be particularly prone to this, and some breeds more than others (Friesans being particuarly agressive, it seems).

So much so that in the Alps, groups of effers are placed with sheep to deter wolves as they will charge and see them off.

I have never been afraid of cows- as I grew up with farms all around me. But in the East Mids about 15 years ago, walking on an official footpath with our then large alsatian mix dog- I saw the Friesan effers in the next field, as usual, with the gate closed, as usual. Apart that this time, it was not closed properly. They cam charging from quite a distance, so I quickly and calmly dropped to the other side of the hedge, in a lower field, so they would lose sight of us, and interest. But they did not! I turned and faced them, as I was told as a child- making mayself look as big as poss and told them to go away, with strong, deepest voice. They came charging some more.

I knew then I was in real trouble and that the only thing to do was to release dog from lead and head for the fence. The fence was very high, square links buried in ground and with double dow of wire on top. I managed to climb near a post, tearing my inner thigh to shreds, and run across a marsh up to my knees to get back to road and back to field, to get my dog. I imagined her dead and trampled. But she was half across the wide metal fence leading to road (too large to get under) and absolutely terrified, but safe and uninjured. The police was told of the event and they went to speak to farmer (famous local milk supplier) who came to see me and apologised, to my surprise, as he had a reputation for being more than difficult.

effers were they also blinders?

Oh yes!

Blondiescot

A quick Google search will bring up a number of instances where people were injured by cows without any dogs being involved. It appears that Jeremy Clarkson was injured by his own cows just earlier this year too!

Thanks Blondiescot. I'll google.

I'm afraid that Clarkson being injured by his own cows doesn't do much for me. He's not a farmer and not, I suspect, particularly familiar with large animals.

We've had horses for years and I know that one develops an awareness of their movements when at close quarters, without which one could be easily knocked down and stood on. Which makes them potentially dangerous to people who're not accustomed to handling them. I suspect it's the same with cattle...

You should never enter a field with cows in before you have planned your escape out of the field if they do become cowish
dog on a lead round livestock at all times

Kali2

MaizieD

I am very curious, ExDancer about what might provoke a cow or bullock into attacking walkers?

I fully understand about cows with calves, but what other circumstances might there be? Are they territorial?

I must confess that if a load of nosey cows comes too close (like standing right in front of me!) I wave an arm and say 'git'... (I wouldn't do it to one with a calf..) and off they go.

As said above, a dog if often the key. Groups of Effers seem to be particularly prone to this, and some breeds more than others (Friesans being particuarly agressive, it seems).

So much so that in the Alps, groups of effers are placed with sheep to deter wolves as they will charge and see them off.

I have never been afraid of cows- as I grew up with farms all around me. But in the East Mids about 15 years ago, walking on an official footpath with our then large alsatian mix dog- I saw the Friesan effers in the next field, as usual, with the gate closed, as usual. Apart that this time, it was not closed properly. They cam charging from quite a distance, so I quickly and calmly dropped to the other side of the hedge, in a lower field, so they would lose sight of us, and interest. But they did not! I turned and faced them, as I was told as a child- making mayself look as big as poss and told them to go away, with strong, deepest voice. They came charging some more.

I knew then I was in real trouble and that the only thing to do was to release dog from lead and head for the fence. The fence was very high, square links buried in ground and with double dow of wire on top. I managed to climb near a post, tearing my inner thigh to shreds, and run across a marsh up to my knees to get back to road and back to field, to get my dog. I imagined her dead and trampled. But she was half across the wide metal fence leading to road (too large to get under) and absolutely terrified, but safe and uninjured. The police was told of the event and they went to speak to farmer (famous local milk supplier) who came to see me and apologised, to my surprise, as he had a reputation for being more than difficult.

effers were they also blinders?