A word of caution when near cattle.
- Thread starter Triggermortis
- Start date
My sympathies for the mans family. Nursing Cows with calves are deadly. The most dangerous animal in the uk, particularly after a difficult calving. Try ear tagging & castrating a new born calf, throw the calf on its side & when it lets out a screaming bellow, your in trouble. We had a huge beast here, horns like a Minotar, she would paw the ground & charge you. Dealing with her calf in a field was terrifying, the only way I could do it on my own was to pick up a steel feed ring with a loader, drive to calf & drop it round the sleeping calf, climb out of the cab, along the boom & drop down to the calf. It was like a shark cage, that brute would be attacking the ring smashing it around while I ear tagged that calf. Please take care! Particularly if you have a dog with you.
Unfortunately, since the start of the pandemic the number of dog owners and walkers seems to have doubled. Combine this with the fact that most of them seem to have emigrated from the city and have the belief they can walk wherever they like and you have these problems. A big fright for me was sitting almost on the corner of a wood when two people appeared round it six feet from my rifle muzzle set up on sticks. Their two dogs came out of the wood behind me. "Sorry mate just moved from London, thought it was ok.to exercise the dogs". We are as fac holders required not to be aggressive or threatening but sometimes it's rather difficult.
Young cattle (heifers, steers, bullocks) are fine. They may "charge" at you en masse, but they'll always peel off at the last minute and pass either side. Then they'll crowd around, huffing and snorting in curiosity, but you just ignore them and keep walking. They'll either follow along behind you all the way to the boundary, or they'll get bored and wander off.
Cows with newborn / very young calves are a different matter and are best given a wide detour. Unless you get very close, a cow is unlikely to leave her calf unattended in order to chase you, but if you have a dog with you then that puts a completely different slant on things. If you do get attacked in this situation then either let the dog go, or pick it up if very small and unlikely to bark. (Cows don't seem to identify the dog as a threat once it's off the ground. They must think it's just disappeared. Only works with a very small dog, though. Trying to shoo away an irate cow while you've got a labrador tucked under your arm ain't gonna work!).
There are already laws about what cattle are allowed to graze in fields with footpaths running through them, and we don't need any more. It's not the cattle that are the problem, it's the kind of people that are using footpaths and the fact that they think they should be able to take Fido wherever they go.
Cattle have grazed footpaths and commons for centuries. Footpaths were originally created by local people going about their daily business. Mostly farmworkers going to and from work, or to church, or rural kids going to school. All people who understood cattle. The biggest problem with footpaths nowadays is that they have the word "public" in front of them.
If you don't like the cattle, go walk somewhere else.
Cows with newborn / very young calves are a different matter and are best given a wide detour. Unless you get very close, a cow is unlikely to leave her calf unattended in order to chase you, but if you have a dog with you then that puts a completely different slant on things. If you do get attacked in this situation then either let the dog go, or pick it up if very small and unlikely to bark. (Cows don't seem to identify the dog as a threat once it's off the ground. They must think it's just disappeared. Only works with a very small dog, though. Trying to shoo away an irate cow while you've got a labrador tucked under your arm ain't gonna work!).
There are already laws about what cattle are allowed to graze in fields with footpaths running through them, and we don't need any more. It's not the cattle that are the problem, it's the kind of people that are using footpaths and the fact that they think they should be able to take Fido wherever they go.
Cattle have grazed footpaths and commons for centuries. Footpaths were originally created by local people going about their daily business. Mostly farmworkers going to and from work, or to church, or rural kids going to school. All people who understood cattle. The biggest problem with footpaths nowadays is that they have the word "public" in front of them.
If you don't like the cattle, go walk somewhere else.
Its number 8 that seems to be the difficult part these days!
Sympathies with the family, ....................... along with a recommendation for four feet of alkathene, they respect it.
Alkathene is no longer permitted for cow whacking. All the drovers have had to go "old school" and revert to using a traditional hazel staff from the hedgerow. No bad thing, really.
John Gryphon
Well-Known Member
HonestJohn
Well-Known Member
when I was young and stupid I walked through a field of belted galloway's with young calves, with my labrador, to say I count myself lucky to be alive today is an understatement after what ensued.
I have since then not walked through a field with cattle, if had to, it's been within feet of a jumpable fence!
I have since then not walked through a field with cattle, if had to, it's been within feet of a jumpable fence!
Only beef breed bulls, it used to be.
Triggermortis
Well-Known Member
Oops I thought I had
Farmer crushed to death by excited bull calves - BBC News
Alan Vague, 76, was found fatally injured in a field gateway near Wadebridge, an inquest is told.
www.bbc.co.uk
Either public with dogs stay off public rights of way with cows and calves or beasts in field present or no cows and calf’s or beasts in fields with footpaths. Anyone talking dog into field with cows and calves does so at own risk and can expect the worse. Plenty Of signs methinks.
Every summer have to negotiate fields with young bullocks in and am centre of attraction
.
Watched a dog fox travel full length of field with cows and calves and no reaction whatsoever, same location different field my friends the bullocks chased a half grown cub a long way before reaching fence, suspect just a game?
Every summer have to negotiate fields with young bullocks in and am centre of attraction
.Watched a dog fox travel full length of field with cows and calves and no reaction whatsoever, same location different field my friends the bullocks chased a half grown cub a long way before reaching fence, suspect just a game?
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Swedish
Well-Known Member
Sadly not an uncommon event here in Cumbria. A few years ago on the outskirts of our village a woman was walking her dog on a lead through a field containing cows and calves. The herd charged and she was badly injured although luckily survived. The air ambulance was called when the paramedics couldn't move her safely to the ambulance which could only get within a couple of hundred yards of the scene. My pal who was the pilot at the time also had to abort as the terrain was too risky for a helicopter landing. It ended up with the mountain rescue team attending to carry her out to the ambulance. A very costly exercise...
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
Having grown up in the countryside, started working on farms, have a degree in Agriculture and now live in a city with a desk based job, what always strikes me is how far apart the UK countryside is from UK urban society.
And what always struck me when living and working in the countryside is how hostile country folk are towards city dwellers. Yet city dwellers are the major customers for agricultural products, and its city dwellers taxes that pay for rural subsidies.
And there has been very little change to 30 years ago.
City folk in the main do not understand and have never been taught about the countryside. Most think that cattle are domesticated. Most city folks experience of domestic animals are their pets, so wouldn’t a cow or a sheep behave like a domestic animal?
Very few city kids ever get the chance to visit a farm, see a cow in the flesh, let alone spending time with cattle or sheep. They won’t have done milking shifts milking 700 cows twice a day, calved a cow, driven cattle two and from a field, through the African bush on horseback or whilst being taught how to check for pregnancy had a cow wink, clench its buttocks and trap your arm for an hour whilst everyone ****ed themselves laughing at the farm student.
Most of the UK population, including many country dwellers are now totally divorced from the countryside.
There are a few, self included, who do understand the countryside and wild areas, but thanks to poor choice of ancestors and other life never really choices had the opportunity to make a career in the countryside and live and work in a city.
But city folk most do not understand, nor have ever had the chance to understand the countryside. And aggressive “keep off my land” type attitude just reinforces the stereotype.
In many other countries, where land tenure and land inheritance is different most urban dwellers still have quite strong routes and connections to the countryside.
Indeed in the UK, especially up here in Scotland, its not that long ago when there were trade and factory shutdowns that coincided with fruit and potato picking seasons, and lots of city folk would have a “holiday” picking fruit.
And what always struck me when living and working in the countryside is how hostile country folk are towards city dwellers. Yet city dwellers are the major customers for agricultural products, and its city dwellers taxes that pay for rural subsidies.
And there has been very little change to 30 years ago.
City folk in the main do not understand and have never been taught about the countryside. Most think that cattle are domesticated. Most city folks experience of domestic animals are their pets, so wouldn’t a cow or a sheep behave like a domestic animal?
Very few city kids ever get the chance to visit a farm, see a cow in the flesh, let alone spending time with cattle or sheep. They won’t have done milking shifts milking 700 cows twice a day, calved a cow, driven cattle two and from a field, through the African bush on horseback or whilst being taught how to check for pregnancy had a cow wink, clench its buttocks and trap your arm for an hour whilst everyone ****ed themselves laughing at the farm student.
Most of the UK population, including many country dwellers are now totally divorced from the countryside.
There are a few, self included, who do understand the countryside and wild areas, but thanks to poor choice of ancestors and other life never really choices had the opportunity to make a career in the countryside and live and work in a city.
But city folk most do not understand, nor have ever had the chance to understand the countryside. And aggressive “keep off my land” type attitude just reinforces the stereotype.
In many other countries, where land tenure and land inheritance is different most urban dwellers still have quite strong routes and connections to the countryside.
Indeed in the UK, especially up here in Scotland, its not that long ago when there were trade and factory shutdowns that coincided with fruit and potato picking seasons, and lots of city folk would have a “holiday” picking fruit.
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TringSaint
Well-Known Member
The bullocks they put in the fields next to my paddocks are complete sh!theads and will go for anything!! Even the farmer won’t go in alone.
Totally nuts! But they are Holstein cross things.
Personally I keep well clear of any fields of cows when walking my dogs as you never know.
When I on my own I’m less bothered, that is until one starts licking the back of your head whilst you are lining the scope up on something! Very disconcerting feeling!!
John Gryphon
Well-Known Member
With everything served up to them no wonder they are hostile. Its not the locals shooting stock, water tanks, power line insulators or whatever, leaving gates open (or shutting them) carving up areas doing 'circle work' blah blah.
That`s easily answered by "and if you had a bunch of people doing what they like on your front lawn by a fire made from your wood"
Old fella here said to me " the ****s will walk all over your place with impunity and feel they have a right to but when they buy some pi$$ing little 20 acre block of their own they straightaway put a trespassers prosecuted sign on it."
Should of kept his pants on.
Where I live in Devon, years ago no gate was ever locked and people respected farmers' land. Today how things have changed and it's not only visitors who assume they can go anywhere in the countryside.
Now the majority of the local farm gates have padlocks and chains on them to stop not only people from walking through growing crops but also to stop certain horseriders from using the fields to exercise their horses. Only recently someone who moved into the village with four children was spotted walking through a field of rape just before it flowered with two friends, four kids, and three dogs. Had they stuck to the headland it wouldn't have been so bad but the whole bunch walked the length of the field right through the middle. Unbelievable!
Now the majority of the local farm gates have padlocks and chains on them to stop not only people from walking through growing crops but also to stop certain horseriders from using the fields to exercise their horses. Only recently someone who moved into the village with four children was spotted walking through a field of rape just before it flowered with two friends, four kids, and three dogs. Had they stuck to the headland it wouldn't have been so bad but the whole bunch walked the length of the field right through the middle. Unbelievable!
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