Cows killed another poor dog walker

[Pippetypoppity]

I’ve just seen on the BBC news that a lady has been killed in a field by cows. She was walking her chihuahua. This is absolutely tragic. She possibly ran with dog and was chased. That would be my guess as the same happened to me on our farm when I was very young. Your instinct is to save your dog and run. I remember I had a sheep dog puppy in my arms and I’d gone into the field to play. I was about 6 I think. The cows noticed the puppy from quite a distance away and the whole herd started moving in. Luckily I was close enough to the gate to get out, but it was terrifying. I remember my father on the yard yelling ‘Drop the puppy’ at the top of his lungs. I didn’t but I’d have been a gonner if I was another 50 yards in. I just want to tell everyone what my father said to me that day. It’s stuck in my mind ever since and it’s important anyone who dog walks in the country knows it too

1. If you see cows with calves leave the field by the nearest exit immediately. Cows often charge to protect their young
2. If you see cows without calves and they start moving quickly towards you they are being inquisitive. If you have a dog with you the cows will want to know if it is a threat. They see dogs instinctively as predators. If you cannot get to a gate and they are approaching- startle them by shouting jumping, waving your arms and making yourself appear as loud, big and threatening as possible. This will frighten them and make them stop or bypass you.
3. If they persevere it will be because they want to force your dog out of the field. Let the dog go! This is critical. Your dog can run faster than cows and much much faster than you. The cows will then focus on the dog and you can get away.
4. Never ever pick up the dog if cows are refusing to back off. This is the hardest thing in the world to do as all your instincts will compel you to try and protect it. It stands a better chance running and dodging them however than it does in your arms. You will then avoid becoming a target yourself and being trampled.
5. When cows move quickly in a large group the ones at the front get pushed by the ones at the back even if they themselves try to slow down. They will not be trying to mow you down but the sheer force from behind might mean they do. For this reason if cows approach in a group and your initial efforts to threaten and scare them failed, make that momentum go in a different direction ie after your dog.

I am so so dreadfully sorry to hear that this has happened again. The lady in question was inevitably a devoted extremely responsible and loving pet owner. She must have been to have been giving her chihuahua a country walk. I expect for this very reason she picked her dog up when she saw the cows getting near. Poor poor lady.

@crackofdoom

Perhaps farmers should all do this then

Be careful what you wish for

www.fwi.co.uk/news/farmer-builds-300ft-prison-fence-to-keep-out-dog-walkers

They're the animal most likely to kill you in the UK.
I feel sad for the woman but what was she thinking??

are you suggesting that the law should be changed to prohibit farmers from keeping livestock in fields crossed by footpaths?
IF this were to happen then many farms would become unviable. No farmer would keep / buy unviable farm land. Therefore, if your vision came to pass farms with PROWs would fall out of production. Quite quickly we’d all feel the effects of reduced food production: food price increases and/ or shortages, increases in rural poverty as associated trades effected. And we’d see the effects of no farmers managing your idea of a rural idyll because these new ‘risk free’ leisure park footpaths would become overgrown and inaccessible…

@FarmersWife2019 public rights of way are NOT a privilege, they are a legal right.
as po said, the footpath will have been there long before the current owners so if you don’t want the public on your land, buy a farm without footpaths.

I would say farming (feeding the country and you - unless you don’t eat!) is a privilege. I would hope the majority of the public using the paths see using it as a privilege. It seems you have your knickers in a twist with the semantics of words.
You are quoting a paper from 2002 relating to data from 1976 and 1995.
I choose to take my information from this millennium.
https://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/resources/fatal.htm
https://news.sky.com/story/farming-most-dangerous-occupation-in-uk-figures-show-13183257

This! I actively avoid walking through fields with cows (with or without my dog) but sometimes it's not always clear that there's cows. I was once halfway through a massive field - on a well known public path - before I spotted a herd. I've had too much run ins with cows, I really do fear them. Farmers should fence off paths for walkers and keep everyone safe.

@MidCenturySuffolk i don’t think anyone is suggesting this, surely just put up a fence leaving a few feet of space along the edge of the field so walkers can safely pass?

I'm saying that farmers have no right to complain that:

1. They have a duty to keep PRoW footpaths open and reasonably safe.
2. The public have a right to use PRoW footpaths.

My analogy was comparing two situations on the shared basis of landowners having to obey pre-existing rules about the use of land. I was not, and did not anywhere, suggest any change in the law.

It seems you have your knickers in a twist with the semantics of words.

Words have meanings and those meanings matter, especially when we are talking about laws.

Thank you for the updated data source.

It's legal, so what's the problem? I don't reckon the cattle will knock it down.

I'd love a fence like that around my house (Merseyside, one of the nastier bits), but planning regs limit me to 6ft tall...

I was about 15 and my sister 14. We ended up in a river to escape cross cows. Said to my aunt about it. She and uncle owned them. She said ‘awk surely’. Very Irish.

I'm Irish and I need a translator 🤷🏻‍♀️

Footpaths through farm land should be fenced.
I do think the burden should fall on the farmers, though. The farm already has fences on the fields themselves, but if we want to walk safely, we need a barrier between the paths and the livestock.

who wants man made fences all over the place! Good grief. We don’t even have footpaths to use along the roads around here , we have to take our chances and share the road with motors which could be doing anything from 30 mph to 60 mph every time we walk to neighbours, pub, school, village halll etc…that is part of life and you learn to be cautious, weary, sensible….to suggest that in the same environment footpaths over fields should be fenced for safety…that’s absolutely bonkers!

We both nearly died. Chased across the field by cross cows. They could have killed us. We had to jump in a river to save ourselves and nearly drowned. When we told her what happened she said ‘awk surely’. Oh surely was what she said to anything really.

The best way to stay safe is to stay at home.

Still don't understand what 'awk surely' means tbh

It's quite obvious that all the farmers on this thread don't want the general public on 'their' land. I know twi farmers and they also talk of the general public in a similar fashion. I get it. They work hard for their families and this is just another headache that they don't feel is their responsibility.

But what I would say is that they are ignorant to how privileged they actually are. They're all very well financially rewarded, live in big houses with out buildings, live in the countryside and, are doing something they love.

They all wish that the public would not have any rights over 'their' land. However, they don't understand that many of us with non-farming jobs love to go for long walks in the countryside, something that they have the privilege of doing every day. The funny thing is that both of my friends are now making more money from their public 'accommodation' side of the business.

For those saying to avoid fields without livestock is near on impossible if you want to go for a decent walk around here.

Most people I meet are respectful of the countryside. I think it's the few that ruin it for the majority. I had a few interesting encounters with cows this year, usually they are fine! One was when a number of cows made their way across the river and started stampeding down the river bank. I had to jump into the river (it was about 5ft)with my dog to avoid them. When I got in touch with the farmer he said it always happens when the river gets that low!! Literally the river path was about 1metre wide and 50+ cows were running along it's path - I still can't believe how lucky I am to tell the tale. And this isn't the first time it had happened. There was no apology or, sorry they nearly trampled you, or sorry you had to jump in the river! He was more annoyed that he had to go over and try and herd them back! Apparently he did this by getting them to go back across. Our fishing club put up a fence our side the very next day to prevent them getting up onto the fishing side of the bank... There is still no fence on the farmers side!

Another was in East Meon, on one of the valley walks. We just got to the top of the hill and right there facing us were 30-40 cows with their calves. These were small but, a few started scraping the floor with their front hoof like in the cartoons. Luckily, I had already picked up a long stick as I knew cows can be on this walk(something one of my farmer friends advises to take if cows are around), just waving this in the air and shouting was enough to deter them. But we did have to turn back as they were blocking the path to the gate.

I don't know what the answer is. I think the common sense is a two-way thing. There is definitely an element of farmers wanting to make it difficult for the public. But as this thread shows there are a lot of public that don't understand/respect the countryside.

It’s a very donegal expression. You may not have heard it before and you may not have ever met my aunt.

This
I also wish every time a fucking human killed a cow, it made it to the news and to an inquest!
We are horribly disgusting towards these (generally very peaceful) animals, but on the rare occasions they turn against us it suddenly is such a huge deal.

I am trying to help you. ‘Awk surely’ means nothing really happened. And if it did it was no problem. Och surely. Not really sure how else to explain.

Noting the conversations about whether people should be walking their dogs through agricultural land or not.

Country park near me has cattle grazing on it during the summer months. This is not private agricultural land. There are signs telling you to keep dogs on leash at this time of year and not to walk between mother and her calf. Ive also read the advice given by OP as to when you should let your dog go.

Dairy cattle are different to beef stock too. They are handled twice a day whereas beef stock are rarely handled.

What an absolutely disgusting post, this woman was trampled to death by cows fgs! Have some compassion and you must have seen the photo that she captioned 'cowz' to have written it like you did which is utterly disrespectful to someone who has been killed so horribly.

Maybe stay out of the field instead of hitting them!