Another walker killed by cows…..is there a solution?

A farm is a business. where a farmer earns a living. Cattle can't read, they make up their own rules. I don't like the idea of walking right through the middle of a field especially with a valuable crop growing. If there is a right of way from one side of a field to the other ,I would prefer to walk round the edge, (not disturbing the wildlife corridor. )
Would anyone expect to walk through a factory?

Footpaths are well signed here but most if not all say dogs must be kept on a lead which I do. Still find footpaths in fields where cows appear without warning where I wouldn’t walk my dog even on a lead.

The following is the advice given by Farmer's Weekly.

"What are the rules regarding cows in fields with footpaths?

With cattle rather than bulls it is a matter of following best practice. Where possible, cows that are calving or which have calves at foot should be kept away from fields crossed by the public; again temporary fencing can be considered where this is not feasible.

It can be helpful to make sure the public rights of way are well waymarked and unobstructed to avoid people wandering off the correct route and into areas of danger.

Finally, it is imperative to have the appropriate public liability insurance in place."

grandtanteJE65 I live in a rural area which is popular with tourists.. There are many local businesses that rely on tourism and most of the pubs and accommodation are dog friendly. We usually take two holidays away with our dog and enjoy long walks using footpaths, these days we can use phone apps to find our way. Although I agree totally that it's best to avoid fields with livestock, it just isn't always possible. I have no problem with farmers using their fields as they wish but they do have a legal responsibility with regard to keeping footpaths safe for walkers. I know some local farmers who deliberately take footpath signs down and then get annoyed when walkers stray onto private land. I feel very privileged to live in a beautiful place and I have no problem with anyone living elsewhere enjoying it too Keeping footpaths safe and warning people if there are livestock which might be a problem is just common sense.

I agree with grannygravy.

One of my favourite strolls has a new landowner who obviously doesn't want people walking past his house. He has installed a herd of highland cattle, bull, cows, calves the lot - job done, no passersby. This is on Yorkshire moorland more suitable for sheep.

I doubt that the cows can tell the difference a lovely, friendly pet dog and a wolf? As prey animals they're instinctively wary of dogs/wolves. DH and I often walk through the local farmer's cow field. We've never been or felt in danger but then we respect the animals as the 2 ton lump of instinct that they are. Even more so when they have calves with them. We also walk on Beverley Westwood where the bullocks are roaming free all summer. Again with no issues. Simply respect the animals' space.

We were climbing up a mountain side in Austria when 2 of those beautiful cows with bells round their necks and horns blocked the narrow path. Rather than argue with them we did a long climb back up the mountain and went down another way. I bought a cowbell as a souvenir. That was in 1967 on our honeymoon. They were quite menacing and I am sure they would have gored us if we had gone up to them.

I grew up in the depths of the country surrounded by dairy farms, and my sister and I were always roaming completely freely. We never for a nanosecond considered cows to be dangerous, and were never bothered by them, although we had respect for them. We didn’t have a dog. I’ve been really surprised and shocked to hear of people being killed and injured by cows. I can only think perhaps it’s the way they are raised now. They always seemed such docile creatures when I was a child.

A public footpath can be created in a number of ways but generally they are paths that have been used by the public for at least 20 years, with the knowledge but without the express permission of the landowner, to get from A to B.

I never walk in a field with cattle. It's potentially dangerous. Even when there is a public footpath I don't do it. If I can't see cows I still look for cow pats and if they are recent ones I am very wary. Perhaps a footpath society should raise money to pay farmers to fence paths.

Having been chased by a herd of cows as a child, there’s no way I would go into a field with cattle nowadays.

How does an area in a field become a public footpath? If the farmer has the right to place livestock in the area how has this come about, who has granted the permission? Public and animals not always compatible. Brought up in the countryside and would never enter a field with livestock, never mind with young. A cow is a very weighty creature doesn't take much to have you on the ground. Haven't seen the article.

We need to heighten awareness of the behaviour that can reasonably be expected of animals.

Whether you live in England that has public footpaths, or in Scotland that has no law of trespass, so you legally can walk on anyone's land at any time, anyone brought up in the country knows that you should never cross or enter a field where cows are grazing, and that dogs should be kept on the lead AT ALL TIMES in sheep country, as well as near cows.

The onus is not on farmers to not graze their animals where the public might want to walk. Animals obey their instincts, pure and simple.

Humans are supposed to be capable of rational thought and should therefore, if they enjoying walking, trekking or the like, USE THEIR BRAINS.

I make no apology whatsoever to those who think I am being harsh. I am sick and tired of hearing city people denigrating the farming community who are providing their food.

Listening to the worst of the city people, I feel you want a country without any animals whatsoever any where you want to be, and the right to walk where you want, irrespective of whether you are trampling down corn, harrying sheep, or frightening cows into behaving as frightened cows do.

25Avalon

Yes I referred to cow abortion earlier.

Farm dogs have to be regularly wormed and vaccinated which reduces the risk, although contamination from wildlife is a bigger risk, deer, foxes, badgers, rats, many others including birds

Most of the people I know that deal with cattle have been injured by them at some point ( usually broken legs). One is lucky to be alive. I did mention the other year that the field behind us is part of a pilgrim route and every summer has cows, their calves and a bull in it. I’m sure it’s an accident waiting to happen as it’s a huge field and the footpath cuts right through the middle of it. Cows are often on a different half of the footpath to their calves. There’s nowhere to escape to.

Farmers are regularly injured by cattle, deaths are not uncommon at all, most dangerous is a cow with an newborn calf, sows with piglets are dangerous too

footpaths originated as a route to work for people on foot - they were never intended for leisure. Hence why they go straight across farmers fields and not round headlands etc. No cattle are safe. None. You cannot expect farmers to fence footpaths tho some that can afford it do so.

25Avalon

There is an experienced older farmer in Scotland who has been on TV killed by his Holstein cows. The HSE are investigating.

This was a very concerning story.
If an experienced is stockman killed by one if his own animals no public footpaths should be go through land that is grazed by cattle.

25Avalon

There is an experienced older farmer in Scotland who has been on TV killed by his Holstein cows. The HSE are investigating.

This will always be a risk for farmers and farm workers I guess but the only solution for walkers is to never cross a field with cattle in it.

I live near a country park where I and many others walk their dogs. Last year fences were put up across fields as there was a plan to move a small herd of cows, Belted Galloways, into the County park to keep the gorse and weeds down. They were meant to have been moved in the autumn but so far have not appeared. I’m wondering if the recent tragic deaths involving cattle has made the council have second thoughts. The fencing and gates that have been built must have cost tens of thousands to erect. Yet another example of the council not thinking things through and wasting tax payers money.

The inhumane way animals are treated is a huge factor

Stay clear just to be safe

There is an experienced older farmer in Scotland who has been on TV killed by his Holstein cows. The HSE are investigating.

I suppose if they lived near the farm they were used to walking in the fields with the cows in without anything happening. Cows are very inquisitive, so I imagine they must have encountered them before. However, it is a sad story

It was mentioned upthread.