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.

No, that is not the way forward.
Walking is really healthy, so it should continue to be encouraged and facilitated.
Farms do need to graze lifestock.
Only solution is to separate the foorpaths from the farm land: fence it, if the footpath cannot be otherwise changed.

They are bloody dangerous when you’re riding a horse too! I can remember a bridle path running through a field of cows twenty odd years ago and it was terrifying. Those animals are bonkers.

Apparently the farmer in question was found at fault for not making efforts to segregate the cows and calves from the footpath. Our local cattle farms do segregate and have signs that warn dogwalkers to keep out but the idiots still keep going back - so far, thankfully, only dogs have been hurt but eventually people might be too.

Horrible comments on this thread. This country is tiny. Public transport out of major cities is abysmal so if you want to do a decent walk in fresh air, it’s common to have to go on public footpaths through private property. Councils and government should work with landowners to help maintain footpaths and make them safe so that the private land is protected and walkers are safe.

What do you think has changed in the world that makes unfenced footpaths over farmland too risky these days? Is it the behaviours of the livestock? Or the behaviours of the humans? I would suggest the latter and that human behaviour is eminently easier to affect than fencing every footpath which would be to the detriment of absolutely everybody who genuinely loves rural Britain.

Back in the 80s our local vicar was chased by bullocks.

Whats changed is that there are more people walking about now, far greater dog ownership.... we have a coast to coast walk now, some of which goes through farmland/footpaths.....

30 years ago this would have been laughed at.

We are also so much more risk averse "if it saves just ONE life....."

Why would it be a detriment? Serious question.
Most paths I follow around here are by borders, which could easily be fenced without affecting the area left to the lifestock. Even if they were bushy borders.
Are you worried about the mobility of wild animals?

Who cares how old the road is or how long it's been in use! People in civilised countries don't feel they are entitled to walk through famers' properties, and we manage to find plenty of places to walk without doing so.

Do you even have an inkling how ridiculous what you have just said is in the context of the thread?

Cows and calves grazing in fields together are highly likely to be beef breeding animals. The calves are not removed at a young age. It's pretty rare for beef cows to be impregnated by anything other than a bull at the same interval as they would be in the wild.

If you are going to parrot animal rights propaganda at least get the right kind of cows and farming system to avoid making yourself look like a complete plonker.

Why? I have been in fields with dairy cows and beef cows. The ones on the moors are not dairy.

I do think the way cows are treated impacts on their behaviour. Like it or not the vast majority of the dairy industry is unethical (there are more ethical dairy farmers out there.

I grew in the country (where a local farmer showed his displeasure at horse riders using a bridle path by “shooting at crows” everytime a horse rider came onto his land.

I now live near the moors with lots of roaming livestock (who are generally more docile it seems).

The way we treat animals has an effect on how they treat us. It’s natural. It’s observable. Some farmers a great, others terrible, the same as any group of people.

The removal of dairy calves is horrific.

So? We are no longer living in ancient times.

You know I used two seperate paragraphs for a reason. You usually do that when you’re talking about two separate things, if you’re going to call someone a “plonker” at least make sure your comprehension is correct before blindly slagging people off. Now move along!

But you haven't been in fields with dairy cows and calves because its the dairy industry where calves are removed at your young age.

Dairy cows grazing in fields are usually very little risk to walkers as they are very used to being handled by humans. They are the ones by your logic who should have the most 'anger' towards humans but they don't.

Beef breeding cattle aren't handled by humans as much, don't have their calves removed at a young age and lead reasonably natural lives. Yet they are the ones involved in most of the incidents involving walkers due to their natural instincts acting against the dog with the walker.

Where did I say I had been? I’ve known several incidents where people have been chased by dairy cows ( they were probably in calf- they usually are).

Can any farmers here confirm whether a loud alarm (eg rape alarm) would scare off cows? Or would it panic / aggravate them?? I regularly walk, take all the precautions here but would carry an alarm for emergencies if it was effective. I feel people should be trained on cows like in the US hikers are trained on bears - where carrying a bear alarm is common.

You may refer to "ignorant townies", but you yourself don't seem to know the difference between right to roam and public footpaths. They're not the same thing.

further to last post... I'm thinking an air horn... would that work??

I tend to see cows in footpath fields like a landslip or a flooded river that normally has stepping stones across - I could carry on regardless with no thought to the consequences or I could reroute or abandon for my own safety.
You do, as a walker, have the responsibility to be aware of hazards of any kinds, but there's enough people still trying to walk up mountains in flipflops to show that too many treat the outdoors like a theme park purely there for their amusement.
Yes, it's fucking irritating to see livestock that aren't suited to passers by in a field with a public footpath and I daresay some farmers do it on purpose, but add "risk assess livestock" to the basic kitlist you need for walking and find another route next time.
Belted Galloways are pretty steady sorts but again, I see some fuckwits letting their dogs hassle them at one place we go. It's those fuckwits who will get us and our dogs banned, so how about blaming them instead of farmers.

I have the right to walk a public footpath and I will report blatant attempts to make them impassable. I also have a responsibility not to be an ignorant fuckwits and do my own risk assessments.

Certainly there are more dogs. But there are also more cows. Dairy farmers are under pressure to have far more stock than they would have had previously, which I suspect could cause more stress in a herd. Cows are also handled differently nowadays- far less human interaction.

In answer to would loud like a noise like a rape alarm scaring cattle away - yes, but shouting very loudly and arm waving is in itself very effective. Again though I cannot say this enough - and I hope it’s the take home from all this - if cattle become far too interested in you and your dog LET THE DOG GO! It will draw them away.

Farmers don't breed certain animals in order to restrict access to footpaths nor do they put them in certain fields... its done on the seasons/how wet the ground is, and the amount of grass available.

As for airhorns and the like... FFS deliberately distressing heavily pregnant cows sounds like a good idea to me!!

Fences? so how does the farmer cut back the hedge with a fence in the way? or stop the path becoming overgrown? honestly!

There is no right to roam in England, only in Scotland.

The public rights of way predate the farms existing. There is no right to just go where you like, you have to stick to the path.

The right to use the path doesn't expire, so your statement doesn't change anything.

I didn't say farmers did that, not do I advocate the use of airhorns etc. Did you quote the wrong person?
Sometimes farmers put cattle alongside public footpaths deliberately to deter walkers.The majority of the time it is because that's where they need to be, as you say. But not always. That's their decision and I'll reroute accordingly, as I said.

Sometimes the public footpath goes through the middle of the field, though?