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.

Farmers have to earn a living.
the countryside is not a Disney playground, it is a serious place and people need to respect animals and the countryside .

*England is a similar size to New York state (dont know why I previously thought it was Britain)

It would be very hard to go on walks/hikes in England and avoid cows. The South downs way, the South west costal path, the ridgeway, dartmoor, exmoor, the lake district, the new forest... if you go for a walk in any of these places you are likely to encounter cows at some point.

Cattle (steers) are on land bisected by footpaths
I do keep dog on lead going through ( usually they are calm) but once I saw some aggressive chavs who were allowing their border collie type to run them ragged.
i called out from another field only to have these Chavs become aggressive.

Unfortunately the battery on my phone had drained so I couldn’t record them.

Really nasty bullying oiks - They thought it a great joke that their mutt was tormenting the cattle.

Its fairly impossible to stay out of fields with cows. Sometimes they are there, other times not if I’m on a walk and need to cross a field to get back to my car and cows have since moved into that field what should I do?

We have free roaming cows, ponies and sheep up in the moors, should I not be walking there either?

The OPs post gives some excellent advice otherwise, Always let your dog go if chased.

We have too many cows, with farmers unable to make sufficient money. Calves are usually removed from their mothers at a very very young age. I do think it creates an issue for cows and probably makes them more aggressive. The cows on the moors seem a lot more docile(and smaller) than you average dairy herd.

As a vegetarian and animal love, I agree but they don't think rationally.

The footpath is a public ‘right of way’ across someone else’s land. The land belongs to the landowner, the public have a right to cross it.

This is the best video I’ve see. ]]

@crackofdoom I hate to break it to you but you need the services of a farmer every single time you eat. Have a bit of bloody respect for them and what they do for you every single day!

Farming is a hard and thankless job. Then to have to deal with idiots who think they have some right to ignore all common sense and go traipsing across their land.
No wonder farmers are leaving the profession! And then what will you do? What will happen to our food security in this country. We are literally fed by farmers!
Cows are big and potentially dangerous animals. It's really not hard to stay away from them regardless of whether or not they are on a 'right' of way.

Right, so you do realise that that's lab-grown meat, right? That A) a vegetarian wouldn't be eating anyways and b) is not a commercial product you can pick up at Tescos.

I wish farmers wouldn't put livestock in fields with public footpaths running through, yet here we are 🤷‍♀️

Are you seriously asking farmers not to use the land that they own or rent for the purpose that it was intended?

Where does the soya that feeds the meat come from, tesco or acres of what was Amazonian rainforest?

I am sure it is instinct - I just used the word wonder after OP posting this:
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

I agree ref footpaths! Unfortunately this is not common at all on ROW footpaths where I live.

I used to holiday in the New Forest as a child. Not knowing better I approached a cow with her calf to take a photo, really getting very close (my parents were with me, didn't stop me!)

The cow turned and charged me and fortunately I was close to a thicket and ran for my life. It was just instinct.

Then we all sort of laughed it off as maybe a bit of an overreaction on my part 😅

I've learned more about how dangerous these animals can be now, I would always keep my distance, walk around the edge of a field and have an escape route in mind. I genuinely think a lot of people have no idea how dangerous cows can be. My own parents routinely came close to cows, encouraged us to go right up to them, walked through the middle of fields with cows all around us etc.

I dunno, maybe some more intelligent people who are better suited to the profession will take up farming instead? 🤷‍♀️

Eh?

Theres nothing to say you can't put livestock on a field with a PROW through it.

You are NOT to put lone bulls on such land (non-dairy bulls out with the rest of the herd are fine, as are animals under 10 months old).

You also must not put animals out if you know those specific individuals are a danger to the public, for example if you have a horse and you know she will grab humans or run to them and kick them... (however proving you knew is the hard part for any unfortunate victim!).

It is good farming practice to put signs up where possible/practical however its not an obligation. If you do put signs up, you must remove them once the livestock in question is no longer on that bit of land or you run the risk of being accused of blocking a path, by implying it isn't safe.

It's also good practice to avoid putting cows with calves in fields with public access, but again, not an obligation and for some landowners, just not possible.

Ds and dh always laugh at me because of my fear of cows. We accidentally got caught in a field with cows in a few years ago and I refused point blank to walk back to my car (past the cows) until a woman on a horse came by and offered to go up the hill with me so I could get to the car. I walked right next to that horse as close as I could get. The cows (youngsters) were nosey and followed us up the hill. My heart was banging. I loved that horse that day and was so grateful to the rider. Ds and dh were still laughing at me though.

All farmers ask is that people keep their animals under the same kind of control that they would keep them in a public park or on an urban street. I'm sorry, but seriously pissed off by entitled Townies who think the countryside a theme park.

I was thinking this too.
As cows will have many calves stripped
from them in the course of their lifetime this could make them more wary of humans.
Seeing footage of calves being taken from their mothers is truly heartbreaking

I was chased by cows once. No dog.

I was walking on a well established footpath up a hill, very popular with local walkers. The path takes you through several fields, along the edges of them.

The cows were all the way on the opposite side of the large field when I entered. As I was about half way through they started charging towards me. No idea why.

Had to climb over a six foot high stone wall to get out!

Just asked my dad your question. He says his farm didn't have what you would call a normal path (stoney area closed off with a fence), rather an area that was well trampled on so more a natural path, and then a stile to take you over fence.

I never noticed anyone ever using it though.

If you are on a ramble in an unknown area and the signs are telling you to follow the footpath through the fields of cows, what are you supposed to do exactly?
@Pippetypoppity has given some very good, sensible advice.
This is nobody's fault if the poor lady didn't know to let her dog down, and the cows are spooked because of the dog, it is a terrible shame.
It is important to remember that these are huge animals, one is probably no problem, but a herd chasing you is a scary prospect.

@Gwenhwyfar no not a law at all - just what I wish could happen based off my experience!

And bloody chickens!!

We desperately need to reduce the environmental impact of this high intensity farming. There are some great farmers who work with the land. There are some awful ones who don’t give a shit about the animals or environment.

As a country we need to be eating less animals and animal products

I agree with you OP, and thanks for the tips. Dogs can run faster than Usain Bolt; none of us can.