Incident number: 1261
Response ID: 329,818,362
Date of incident: 15.06.26
Location: Fields near Tackley in Oxfordshire heading towards the canal path
Status: Group of walkers (3-5) with no dogs on PROW
Liz’s story
“We entered a field with about 50 cows (A group of heifers) at the far end of the field. They rushed over to us and when we tried to walk away along a fence , they tried a pincer movement to force us against a barbed wire fence. Whichever way we went they aggressively ran towards us.
We are all experienced walkers. No one ran. In the end we walked across flapping our arms and shouting and they formed a semicircle around us following us all the way.
We were badly shaken but unhurt”
Liz adds “In the last few years we have noticed more and more aggressive cows . I believe this is a breed problem. Friesians never bothered walkers in the past”
Cattle Safety 
As a farmers kid I grew up with dairy cattle (240) Aryshires and Friesians.No farmer totally trusts his cattle and especially when they have calves and first time Mothers.Doesnt matter of any breeds.Cattle are highly strung and incredibly nervous
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Back in the day we used to walk through fields of cows and they never bothered us. Now however, after several scary experiences we would never enter a field with cows in. I believe they are far more aggressive than they were 20/30 years ago
inbreeding or feed?
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I noticed a big difference after the pandemic lockdowns. Cows that had become used to grazing without human interaction during the time most adults stayed at home.
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That’s an interesting thought. People tend to laugh at me when I’m wary of cattle. And yes, mostly everything’s probably fine. But they are huge creatures, always pays to be careful.
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