walking through fields with livestock

I'd consider myself a fairly seasoned walker/hiker in the UK, and have probably walked close to 1,000 miles on all types of footpaths. But I'm finding that I'm getting more and more skittish around livestock, especially now that our boys are hiking longer distances with us.

I know there are many experienced ramblers here, so I was wondering what you think about the latest tragedy involving a bull and walkers (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-11752957). Do you feel comfortable walking through fields of livestock? How do you feel about walking with dogs? Have this and other similar stories changed your opinion? I love to walk and there's no place like the UK for footpaths. I know that these tragic stories are few and far between, but I am very nervous about it nonetheless.

So, I'd love to know how other people who love to walk but are a bit concerned about livestock deal with it. If only an OS map could show where the animals are and where they aren't!

 

It is very unusual; in April 2008 a member of the Health And Safety Executive said in 30 years in East Anglia, he couldn't remember a case of a member of the public killed by cattle. He said it was not uncommon for farm workers to be killed by bulls (one or two a year I believe) but quite rare for members of the public. He mentioned that up and down the country there had been one or two incidents with walkers being killed by cattle, particularly if they've had young. This was after a case of a woman walking with dogs on a footpath through a field with cows and a bull who was trampled to death. Bullocks (young castrated bulls) do tend to be quite frisky and hate dogs in their field expecially if the bullocks are mixed with heifers/cows (which they will protect).

Personally I always avoid bulls, and I would never take a dog in a field with livestock. I thought that it was illegal for a bull to be in a field where the public have access, so I wonder what will come out of the investigation. All bulls are licenced and are only kept for breeding so are usually penned. I see police investigations are "continuing".

Well bulls are always going to make you a bit nervous!  Sometimes, the farmer will put up a warning sign that says 'Danger - Bull in Field' or something like that.  However, many times, there will be a sign up saying that, and no bull anywhere at all in sight.  I'm not aware of it being illegal to have a bull in a field with public access though.

The story mentions that they were walking through the field near darkness - I wonder if they somehow surprised the bull or something?  Like they didn't see it beforehand.  Not saying that it was their fault, but just wondering if it got startled or spooked somehow.

Sheep are the most common around here & really don't represent any particular threat - they are generally more keen to stay away from you, unless it's winter & then they sometimes think you are coming to feed them!

When we see cattle in a field, we always sort of scan about the field and make an assessment of danger & how we're going to handle the situation before entering the field.  If we can, we will usually give cattle a wide berth & do things like taking care not to walk between a mother cow & her calf and stuff like that.  There may often be other walkers about, and you can observe how the animals are reacting to them.  If we see a bull that looks like it could be trouble (which isn't very often), we'll find an alternative route to be safe.  Usually the male cattle that we see in fields are the ones that have been castrated, not actual bulls.

We don't have a dog.  But if you're walking with dogs, I think it's part of the countryside code - you need to keep your dog on a lead & well under control, so that it doesn't disturb the livestock and/or get them riled up.

We have been cornered by cattle before (female) which kind of freaked us out, but they were really just curious about us & kept trying to lick DH!  Eventually they lost interest and wandered away.  We also got lost once & climbed over a fence into a pen of fairly aggressive swine - luckily the not entirely thrilled farmer was there to help us & got us back on track (and off his land!).

If it's just cattle (no bulls) and they're in your way, and there's no danger of upsetting them over calves or something, and you've got a walking stick - you can kind of wave that about & 'haaaa' them out of the way.  We have done that before too.

So I guess the main thing is to just be alert and proceed sensibly with caution, whenever possible.

I thought that it was illegal for a bull to be in a field where the public have access, so I wonder what will come out of the investigation.

Well, the law seems to be this:

Occupiers may not, subject to certain important exceptions, keep bulls in fields crossed by public rights of way. The exceptions are bulls not more than 10 months old, or bulls which are not of a recognised dairy breed (currently defined as Ayrshire, British Friesian, British Holstein, Dairy Shorthorn, Guernsey, Jersey and Kerry) and are accompanied by cows and heifers.

We don't have a dog.  But if you're walking with dogs, I think it's part of the countryside code - you need to keep your dog on a lead & well under control, so that it doesn't disturb the livestock and/or get them riled up.

My sister in law was recently chased by a herd of cows when she was walking her dog on a lead! It scared her sh$tless.

One time we were walking somewhere up in North Yorkshire & one of the local farmer's dogs was ever so friendly & accompanied us along for a good portion of our walk, until he turned tail & decided to follow some other walkers for awhile.  It was so funny because you could tell the dog was used to being the neighbourhood tour guide/ambassador for that area - he knew the entire route like he had led other walkers along it, time after time!  Even funnier, we walked through a field with cattle - which were making us a little nervous - that dog walked quickly along, on the other side of us (with us between him or her, and the cattle) and ever so quietly!  Smart dog.  

Oh yeah - our most recent encounter, a couple months or so back, was horses!  I'm not comfortable around them at all, and there were a bunch of them that wanted to be friendly & follow us.  Horses seem to be fond of nipping at my blonde hair (hay source?!), and one of these lot was nipping at my pocket on my back side!    I just see them as these enormous creatures that could trample you so easily.  DH did his best to distract them until I was on the other side of the fence.

From just reading the subject line, I was going to suggest that you that you leave your livestock at home.

lol

As has been mentioned, Section 59 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 bans bulls of recognised dairy breeds (eg Ayrshire, Friesian, Holstein, Dairy Shorthorn,Guernsey, Jersey and Kerry) in all circumstances from being at large in fields crossed by public rights of way.

Bulls of all other breeds are also banned from such fields unless accompanied by cows or heifers.

If there is a bull or even only a herd of cows in a field you want to cross you should use your common sense before entering - that is, unless you know you can get out fast, I’m afraid it would be best to stay out and find another way round or come back another time, frustrating as it may be. If you are in an area you don’t know well you could always pop into the village pub or shop before you set off on your walk as there will invariably be someone who can tell you where it’s safe to walk.

I don't think we would end up doing much rambling at all, if we had to avoid every field full of cattle that we encountered - lol!  If there's a bull, yeah we'll take evasive action - and we have done that 2-3 times, having had to find a different route.  But we've walked through lots & lots & lots of fields with cattle, just walking around them as best we can, quickly & quietly, that sort of thing.  It's only been 3 or 4 times in several years of walking that the cows were very much interested in us, and we just got in & out quickly.  We have found it's best not to panic & run, or do something that will get them (more) stirred up - just to keep moving quickly, quietly & steadily.

Here's a Do's and Don'ts thing I found on the Ramblers website:

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/news/Latest+news/Cowsdosanddonts

There is no way I would walk in or thru a field with livestock...at any time of the year

the lady I work with..her best friend was almost trampled to death in a field..they had to carry her thru 4 fields to get her to a ambulance..

no way no how...

I completely understand people being fearful because of incidents like that, but those incidents really are the exception rather than the rule.  You just aren't going to hear about (obviously) the millions of times (not to mention the centuries) of humans being in or passing through a field of livestock, where absolutely nothing happened - because nothing happened.

I do think there are sensible precautions to be taken - pretty much to do with the link I put up.

However, if a person is that afraid of fields with livestock, then probably rambling is not the sport for you.  

I don't think we would end up doing much rambling at all, if we had to avoid every field full of cattle that we encountered - lol!  

Yes! It would be so awful if I were too scared to walk through fields, so I've got to figure out a way to deal with it.

My husband (who has a love affair with OS maps, and so is therefore the 'map planner' of the family) always does his best to avoid fields that he knows will freak me out. But of course that doesn't always work out. It's really disheartening to be faced with a 'scary' field - with no way around it! I have been known to force people to backtrack with me, which totally sucks for everyone.

Horses seem to be fond of nipping at my blonde hair (hay source?!), and one of these lot was nipping at my pocket on my back side! 

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OMG! I've got a problem with horses and cows (bullocks, mostly). If a horse got that close to me, I really don't know what I'd do. I recently jumped a barbed wire fence because there were a few horses in the field that looked a bit interested ...

I completely understand people being fearful because of incidents like that, but those incidents really are the exception rather than the rule.  You just aren't going to hear about (obviously) the millions of times (not to mention the centuries) of humans being in or passing through a field of livestock, where absolutely nothing happened - because nothing happened.

Yes. This is exactly what I need to hear! 

I admit that I am fearful too, but we have been walking over here long enough I have learned to manage it, reasonably well enough.  I do think those guidelines put up by the Ramblers are pretty helpful & that's how we handle things.

When the horse was nipping at my bottom, I didn't bolt or panic or anything - just kept walking at the same even pace (he was just pulling at the pocket of my jeans, not biting me), whilst my husband was talking to and stroking and making a fuss over the horses (which is what they wanted & probably food too that we didn't have), until we could get out of the field.  I usually have DH between me & the animals because he just seems to have a feel for dealing with them better than I do (like a horse or cow whisperer, I guess - lol).

It is very unusual; in April 2008 a member of the Health And Safety Executive said in 30 years in East Anglia, he couldn't remember a case of a member of the public killed by cattle.

I was under the impression that East Anglia is made up of much more arable land, and therefore had much less livestock than other parts of the country. Although my in-laws live in Suffolk, I haven't done much walking in the area - so I could be wrong.

But do you have any idea how many cases of livestock 'attacks' (not necessarily deaths - although I suspect that not all cases would have been reported) have happened by county (or larger area)?

From just reading the subject line, I was going to suggest that you that you leave your livestock at home.

 

I wouldn't do much walking if I didn't go through fields of cows, sheep, etc.! I've never felt worried about it, although I have heard the stories. I think as long as you use good common sense and are ALWAYS RESPECTFUL of the fact that the fields are not yours, you'll be fine. I know there are public rights of way, however, that doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want to. Sorry to sound so peeved, but there's a certain type of rambler that really bugs me (not talking about anyone here). Common sense and respect will go a long way.

If cows/bulls start coming toward you in a threatening way and you have a dog on a lead, let go of the lead immediately.