To think parents should take responsibility if children chase sheep on country walk?

[Firethorn]

Recently went for a country walk (public right of way across farmland) with SIL, my 2 nieces, and another couple and their 3 kids. Crossing a sheep-field, the 5 kids started chasing sheep, trying to 'round them up' in a flock like they'd seen sheepdogs do on TV. I asked SIL if we should stop them, she said no they always do this it's not doing any harm. Other couple agreed and said the kids are having fun, let them play with the sheep. I was a bit concerned as one child was carrying a stick and waving it around, but respected the parents' decision.
Shortly afterwards an irate farmer marched towards us shouting and swearing! She was really aggressive and had a snarling dog (off the lead), dog was circling us but not approaching. For about 5 minutes mins she yelled and swore at the kids for chasing her sheep. All 3 parents then turned on their kids and told them off, lying that they'd been telling them to stop but they'd disobeyed! (They hadn't told them to stop at any point). My niece burst into tears and hid behind me and I lost my temper with farmer for swearing at kids, told her to back off and stop shouting, and to get dog under control. The dad of one of other kids then threatened to kick the dog if it came near his kids, and after some more shouting we decided to go back way we'd come. She shouted abuse after us until we were out of sight!

I'm annoyed with other parents for letting their kids chase sheep then lying about trying to stop them! Also with farmer for being so intimidating and rude. SIL says we should just have apologised and carried on walking. AIBU?

If this situation did happen then do the bloody decent thing and pre warn the farmer if someone is planning to leave gates open and 'teach her dog a lesson'. A word of warning though the farming community will not stand back and watch a specific farmer targeted. I know we wouldn't and there would be repercussions of some sort.

Look, your SIL is too dense to work out that it's wrong to allow children to chase sheep with sticks, that sheep without lambs could still be female and pregnant at this time of year, that allowing children to chase rams would not only be wrong but dangerous, that if sheep are chased they could abort, or that it's not a good idea to lie in front of your children. And you expect us to believe that she would have had the emotional intelligence to stand there merely apologising whilst the farmer used her valuable time explaining the bloody obvious to her and her children?

I'm perfectly sure that if that had been the case you would have been on here complaining about how the farmer told them off and how patronising the farmer was.

Tell us, have you at least told SIL that her friend was a total dickhead who you want nothing more to do with?

Congratulations on your last two posts, OP - much better! Much more calm and reasonable and therefore credible - it's the hyperbole and repetition that arouse suspicion. Also, you've varied the pattern in your posts which was becoming obvious. Unfortunately, it's the hyperbole which maximises responses so it's a tricky balance, eh?

I'm just pointing this out as you say you're keen to learn from this thread.

Why don't I back down when confronted with this response? Because I am not swayed by a mass emotional response or ppl jumping on bandwagon.

Why do you think there is a mass response (if it's emotional, it's because it's such a sensitive subject) to your post? It's because YOUR PARTY is in the WRONG.

Why do you put it down to people 'jumping on a bandwagon'? It's because you cannot/will not reconsider your actions and consider you just might be3 wrong.

Do not accuse me of jumping on a bandwagon! I can form my own opinions, as I'm sure others on here can too. Just because you have no clue how to live without leaving a massive negative footprint on the planet, don't drag me into your incompetence and stupidity!

OP if you had a dog, and you went outside and there were a group of kids chasing it and intimidating it whilst their parents looked on thinking it was okay would you be all like 'come now children, let me teach you about the ways of the world! Why don't you join us parents, here's a learning experience for you all...'

No, you'd be bloody shouting to stop it immediately and enraged that they were allowed to do it in the first place. Or perhaps you'd ignore it and write them a passive aggressive letter . I dunno really because your way of thinking doesn't compute with what I see as normal

Firethorn

I am not blaming farmer. I'm saying she made situation worse (mainly for herself) by reacting with such unnecessary aggression.

Can you not see how contradictory this sentence is?

What did your nieces learn by the adults lying?
And by you shouting?
Or the male threTening to kick the dog?

I'm not blaming the farmer but she made it worse.

Sorry to repeat your point boney but based on evidence of this thread I think the op is too thick to understand unless stated in more simplified language.

Because I am not swayed by a mass emotional response or ppl jumping on bandwagon

Give me bloody strength.
Are you responses because you don't see OP, or because you don't want to?

For the record I'm not feeling emotional and am not on any band wagon. I'm an experienced and educated country dweller, not that you need to be any of those things to work the rights and wrongs of this situation.

Goady even!

Yup thankfuck that's exactly what I meant.

I hope op is a troll and the whole incident is fictional. Sadly tho it's all too believable as many of us have come across this type of entitled ignorant twattery.

Oh, I believe that people do it, Binary - just not the OP!

I imagine the farmer was so furious because she probably has this all the time. A friend's farm is criss-crossed with footpaths and they have dog/children incidents every weekend, with equally ignorant owners/parents. One dog was caught with its mouth round a sheep's throat, friend kicked the (large) dog in an attempt to get it off and its owner threatened to report her for assaulting the dog - he had made no apparent effort to call the dog back or get it to release the sheep. Only the intervention of another walker stopped the dog killing the sheep.

yup, either op is as sharp as a bag of rocks or a goady fuck, either way what a tube. Let's just round it all up with a classic quote and stop feeding the troll.

"I pity the fool" - BA

Firethorn -

ANIMALS ARE NOT TOYS. CHASING THEM SHOULD NEVER BE A GAME, WHETHER THEY ARE PREGNANT OR NOT, AND WHETHER ANY HARM IS CAUSED OR NOT.

Stop excusing the actions of anyone in your party, by bleating (pun intended) that you didn't know the sheep could be in lamb, or that any harm could be caused.

This thread is hilarious assuming it's true.. Thanks, OP, for re-inforcing my belief that, just when you think some people are fairly cunt-ish, along comes someone who's even worse. Your SIL and her friends take the biscuit.

You however, are culpable yourself, for thinking that the worst thing about this whole episode is the tone of voice the farmer used. Jeez.

And your niece doesn't want to go back to the countryside again? Result all round, I should say.

if this thread is real the don't be too surprised if your sil sees her family in the local paper next week with the "do you know this family" headline.

almost everyone has a camera phone and i wouldn't be suprised if the farmer got a snap of you and has gone to the police/papers.

i really really really hope she did!

If I'd had any doubts that adults could be complete and utter twats about respecting the countryside and the people who work in it they'd have been dispelled by the utter knobber in a photography group who saw nothing wrong with encouraging his dogs to chase a sheep and got quite belligerent when challenged about it.

It must be wilful ignorance rather than genuinely having grown up learning fuck all about livestock.

I've come across some belters of people in the fields but they are generally understanding. The worst ones were the family that climbed a locked gate, ignored 'no swimming' signs and took they're kids swimming in a disused water station pond. Then there are the families who think it's ok to have fun letting their kids build dams in the streams that run through the fields. They don't understand that those little streams can flood the fields if it rains further up in the hills. I've had people try to feed the geese not realising geese can be aggressive and that's why they're contained in an enclosure. I've lost count of the people that open the gate to it . Then there's the horse feeders who ignore my signs. One family brought a bag of grass clippings and got argumentative when I asked them not to feed the horses and explained how harmful grass clippings were to horses I was told "but horses eat grass" . As for picnickers, they often leave their rubbish lying around and I'm forever picking it up. I won't talk about sky lanterns as we've had horses injured, sheep killed and cows burnt by the bloody things. I've never had anyone chase sheep. We've had a few dogs that have but those instances are rare as people as mostly sensible.

What if your SIL was drink driving and involved in a hit and run which you witnessed? Where do you draw the line at reporting illegal behaviour?

Just talked to my kids about this thread (7 and 10). I was brought up in the countryside but they are townies so thought I'd better check they knew how to Behave. Both were instinctively horrified at the idea of your nieces chasing animals for 'fun'. Both then assumed the nieces were much younger ("three or four maybe?") and that's why they'd thought it was OK. They were even more horrified when they found out the children were the same age as them.

Both knew sheep had lambs in spring and it was likely the sheep were pregnant.

Children are finding you and your family's behaviour unreasonable and incomprehensible, OP.

Op, I am not a bandwagon -er, far from it, I am very happy to go against a majority if I feel its the right thing to do...I know some people are like, sheep on threads and jump into pummel, I am not like that.

Your whole party were in the wrong and its shocking.

Do you not see it was the parents responsibility that their children were frightened. This is what the parents did:

Wandered off the right of way, allowed children to trespass

They allowed children to chase the sheep.

Ignored your concern about the children's behaviour

Told the farmer that the children were out of control, ie not stopped when asked the parents. What was the farmer supposed to do when faced with this lie? Frightening the children into not doing it again after such a potentially seriously situation was the option she chose. FFS she is a farmer not a fully trained teacher.

When faced by anger of farmer, they did not apologise, but argued and shouted back. No wonder the dog was growling and the farmer became more abusive

And she couldn't have achieved this without shouting abuse and swearing?
Had she been less aggressive I can envisage a much better outcome

But you were not going to her barn for a friendly chat about farm ways.

It was a drastic and urgent situation, and its this you have failed to grasp all the way through.

You imply she sees children abusing her sheep, adults watching on and you, you you all expect her to come wandering through to the area, and in a very calm and amiable way have a chat about farm etiquette .

It was not the context for this sort of exchange and the reason it wasn't the appropriate behavior is because adults including yourself, let children harras and worry the sheep.

I am sure if you had all gone to knock on her door and ask if she had a moment to explain farm ways, she would have been the pleasant and easy going farmer you wanted.

Abusing sheep, pregnant sheep doesn't illicit this sort of response, generally.

I'm saying she made situation worse (mainly for herself) by reacting with such unnecessary aggression

It was urgent and necessary to save lives.