Julia thinks farmers who know they have aggressive cattle should be made to graze their cattle away from the public

Report number: 987
Date of incident: 8/9/2024
Location: ///skip.adjuster.mopped on the Tarka Trail, Nr Okehampton, Devon

cows with calves on open moorland on Dartmoor (mostly pure black herd but main aggressor was pale brown)

Report: “It’s an area we walk very regularly, my dog is off lead but under close control. It was a very foggy day and we found ourselves amongst the cows on the moor. We couldn’t see them until we were about 20m away. We are well aware of their potential so were trying to avoid them. My dog ran past the brown cow and her calf was nearby, she turned and went to attack my dog who was able to run away uninjured. The herd of black cows then came charging up from behind to see what was happening, running past us on either side, we stood still.

(I should add that my walking companion is a retired beef farmer and knows all about cattle). We thought that was it and turned to walk off in the opposite direction when the brown cow attacked us, she was bellowing, leaping, shaking her head and running straight for my friend. He made a lot of noise and waved his arms about and managed to get her to stop just short of us. We then walked away as quickly as possible heading through gorse and heather off the path to avoid them. I am convinced if my friend had not acted how he did we would both have been butted and trampled. I’ve been around cows quite often, and I have never been so frightened in my life.”

Further comment from Julia “I believe there have been at least two further attacks in the following days, one resulting in someone being quite badly injured, as was their dog. I appreciate living on Dartmoor means come across livestock all the time, but I do think farmers who know they have aggressive cattle and, especially when they have calves at foot, should be made to only graze their cattle in safe areas away from the public.”