Report number: 883
Date of Incident: 5th June 2024
Location: High Tilberthwaite, Cumbria, England. Grid Ref SD 330824 501300. On right of way.
Dogs: None
Cattle: Group of cows and calves. Brown.
Account “Our group of four adults entered a field of cows near to a farm through a gate; we were intending to walk calmly across it following a public footpath. Cows with calves were lying down on and near the path so we made a detour to give them a wide berth. All the cows except one appeared to ignore us. This one cow, which was approximately 80 to 100 yds away, looked at us with great interest and started to walk briskly towards us. It then began to run, and charged aggressively towards one of our group, a man. It stopped about half a metre away from him and made aggressive roaring noises, darting at him repeatedly in a threatening way and pawing the ground. It was very close indeed. The man stood his ground, unsure what to do, and two others of us shouted and clapped loudly. The cow fortunately hesitated and withdrew. We quickly retraced our steps and left the field through the gate. Many of the cows had calves next to them, but this cow did not appear to have a calf.”
There were no warning signs.
Steve comments – “It should be illegal to put potentially dangerous animals in a field that contains a public footpath.”
Cattle Safety 