Please use the countryside responsibly- so fed up

[jacks11]

On a rare day off from my day job, I have once again spent the day dealing with a series of thoughtless and/or completely entitled idiots behaving totally irresponsibly on our land. I had thought the one (very small) silver lining of this awful situation would be that this lambing season would see us free from so many problems from people out for a walk etc. But still having issues.

Today I stopped no fewer than 7 families traipsing through either the yard, our garden (one family stopping to have a seat on the picnic table/bench in our garden) or the lambing sheds to have a look. One family also stopped off to admire the lambs in one of the fields then preceded to take there youngish children (under 10) into said fields to see them closer. Several gates left open, people climbing over gates etc. I caught someone feeding our old pony apples and a doughnut! We’ve had rubbish being dropped. Dogs off leads etc.

What I cannot understand is how so many are getting to us- they must be breaching the guidance to only exercise locally or walking at least 7 miles from the nearest village. Which I doubt with the ages of some of the children.

When DH politely approached the family in our garden they were really rude, citing their “right to roam”- not even slightly apologetic when pointed out they were in our garden so they had no right to be there. Ditto several other people- don’t seem to realise right to roam does not apply to private gardens or land used for commercial reasons- I.e. yards/lambing sheds and you must behave responsibly (e.g. close gates, don’t let dogs off leads near livestock, don’t leave rubbish, don’t worry livestock, don’t walk across crops etc).

When you add in the situation with Covid, you’d think people would be careful about touching gates etc unnecessarily- but no. Lots of people have vulnerable family members and this is just an added headache- having to constantly be aware that people may have touched the gates/railings/doors etc.

Please use the countryside responsibly- some of us live on the land you are using as a playground. You are putting our livestock at risk- please don’t feed livestock/horses for that reason- and sometimes yourself in danger. There is no excuse for leaving rubbish.

Rant over!!

The current rules are for no non-essential car journeys. Taking your dogs and kids in the car to the countryside is not essential.

Dogs should always be on leads around livestock and, again, the rules at the moment are that you keep your dog on a lead anyway. The only dogs in a field that don't need to be on leads are working dogs.

I live in a city and have done for over 30 years, and I know the rules in the countryside. No one should be leaving their rubbish at any time. Anyone who thinks they can do want they want on someone else's land is a massive twat.

I grew up on a farm. One year my father and I had to shoot 24 dogs during the lambing season. Seems people are still as stupid/selfish now as they were then

People are worse now.

True

I'm watching the Pope on TV right now. 'This is not a time for self centredness' How right he is.

Why put your sheep in a field with a footpath at this time of year?

So that we can eat lamb later in the year. It's what grazing fields are for. We're enormously privileged in the U.K. to have a network of rights of way, it's our responsibility to use them properly and not abuse them.

I feel for you OP, I honestly don't get why people think it's ok to wander into farmyards, it's not a playground.

Our local farmer is tearing his hair out, he's had to put massive gates on his yard, huge signs saying private property, the place looks like a prison at the moment...and wait for it people are still walking/running cycling past the massive signs and squeezing themselves through the huge mental gates as they want to access his farm yard!!!!!

There is no right of way through the yard...no public access at all. There are perfectly good public paths and bridleways - all clearly signposted in the area...but no they think they have the right to traipse through someone's garden, their workplace, oblivious to the dangers of heavy machinery & livestock. I despair with their stupidity.

Ps. I'm from a farming family & this sort of crap is just not acceptable in normal times, let alone in the current situation. I honestly don't understand why people think farms are open for them to visit ...oh isn't it twee....let's have a picnic in someone else garden....oh look at the piglets, let's feed them some shite and spoil their carefully crafted diet.....oh no harm meant little hyacinth was just being kind and sharing her sweets with the little piggies

You need a couple of large guard dogs running free within your land.
This should sort half your problems.

You also need two layers of fencing, to create distance between the public and your horses. The general public don't understand what ponies/horses should and shouldn't eat....giving them meat sandwiches and cake etc. Plus often the plastic bags go down the hatch too.

I definitely wouldn't be up keeping footpaths/stiles etc. You need to make it as unattractive and difficult for Jo public to walk next to/through your land.

Penners99 Of course you did, Did you feel good about it? I’ve lived in the country side for over 55 years and never heard of one dog shoot,

This is the sort of thing that kids should be covering in citizenship lessons at school - I'm sure that when I was at primary school we did this sort of thing, along with train safety (I'm Train Trained!), road safety (Tufty, obviously), cycle training (Cycling Proficiency), then at guides we did 'home and water safety).

Just general stuff about keeping safe, being a good citizen - fits right in with all the green schools stuff they do. Kids should know how to behave responsibly in public - which includes the countryside.

Years ago before we had built all our fences, I put electric tape up between dponies and the footpath. A mum came and knocked on my door because her dd had got a shock from the fence when she was "trying to pat the horse".

This is the level of entitlement we are dealing with.

Purpletigers I’ll stop when land owners/renters stop acting like dicks, it’s a two way street,

Well, my chain and padlock is still safely there, doing its job.

I have nothing to add OP, other than people are tools and this would piss me off no end!

I'm a city person, but have lived in the countryside for a while now. I wouldn't dream of walking onto farm land and helping myself, even when I first came to live here I wouldn't have behaved in such an irresponsible way. I think we were taught the country code at school or there was a public info ad run when I was a child - something like that.

I don't know how you cope. So sorry that this happens so regularly. I just despair.

fowaa Another one advising people to break the law, so you moan when people on your land break rules, but your happy for land owners/renters to break the rules

It's their bloody land. And their livelihood. I'd be a bit of a dick if people were misusing my land and jeopardising my livelihood.

These rights of way might have worked once, perhaps when people weren't as arrogant, self-centred and utterly clueless, but it sounds like they're well past their use-by date.

Hester, living in the countryside and farming land are two different things. Shooting dogs is still common, but not as common as it was in the 60's and 70's.

I must admit that the temptation to shoot the dog owners was strong on occasion.

ErrolTheDragon. So they just have to go in that field with a public right away in it, no the one to the right or left, sometimes I think they put them in the field so they can moan about the general public

@Hester54

And can you point to a definitive rule about dogs on leads or Under close control

Someone may have already answered this but, look up the countryside code on the gov.uk website. Oh hell, I'll be kind and do it for you.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-countryside-code/the-countryside-code

ErrolTheDragon. So they just have to go in that field with a public right away in it, no the one to the right or left, sometimes I think they put them in the field so they can moan about the general public

Generally farmers are fairly scientific in when they rotate pasture and crops as I understand it, to maximise yields, and limit damage to pasture. Their main concern is not either to moan about the general public, nor to enable their picnics and ramblings.

Treestumps

Yes it was the country code back then.

Ahhhh Tufty club and all the keep safe films we were shown in the school hall, good times.

So they just have to go in that field with a public right away in it, no the one to the right or left, sometimes I think they put them in the field so they can moan about the general public

Now i know you are just trying to wind people up. Noone could be that stupid.

@Hester54

It’s a criminal offence to allow your dog to chase or attack livestock
Farmers can shoot dogs they believe are worrying livestock on their land
www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice/dogs-and-livestock

Your right to roam does not include the right to worry or potentially harm livestock. The field is not there primarily for the purposes or your access, although a public footpath may enable you go through it. Your attitude is so entitled, farmers will rather have living lambs than a reason to 'moan at the public' as you say.