myth-busting – Cattle Safety

Can We Enjoy a Walk in the Countryside?

You may have heard Adrian Chiles’s radio programme discussing the safety of walking through fields of cattle, if not then head this way – Adrian Chiles – 04/04/2024 – BBC Sounds . Neither the animal behaviourist nor the representative from the NFU on the programme arrived at any conclusions about how we should behave to avoid being attacked by cows. So we ask the question – can we enjoy a walk in the countryside?

This all began because we love walking in our beautiful countryside – and it’s good for us.

The benefits of walking

Natural England has updated the Countryside Code, recognising the significant health and wellbeing benefits of spending time in nature. These benefits are important. England and Wales are blessed with a wonderful network of footpaths, allowing everyone access to our countryside so they can enjoy the benefits to both mind and body that walking in natural surroundings can bring.

But: Killer Cows have received over 800 reports of incidents in the countryside, these are from walkers who have either felt scared or been chased by cattle or, even worse, sustained injuries from cattle – some very severe. Many have been so affected they no longer feel safe enough to walk in the country and so have lost any benefit access to the countryside gave them.

So what do people suggest to do to keep safe?

Myth: There are 3 billion visits…

The 3 billion figure is used again and again. It is wrong. Just. Plain. Wrong.

Myth-busting: People make 3 billion visits to the English countryside every year

Err. No. They don’t.

This figure is used again and again, by official bodies, by journalists, and by other groups, but it is wrong. Just. Plain. Wrong.

Where does the 3 billion figure come from? It comes from the annual MENE surveys, which consistently show a figure of around 3 billion visits a year to outdoor spaces across England. Continue reading “Myth: There are 3 billion visits…”

Myth: Bulls chase the colour red.

Bulls don’t really care what colour you are wearing. Neither do cows.

“I’d advise not wearing red near bulls.”

Oh dear. You’ve been watching too many cartoons. This definitely is a myth.

Bulls don’t really care what colour you are wearing. Neither do cows. Cattle are virtually colour blind.

To be fair, there is some evidence cattle have limited colour receptors in their eyes, and might be able to distinguish red, although to them the colour red will look like a slightly different shade of grey.

It certainly isn’t true that bulls chase red objects and ignore the rest.

Then, why do they use red capes in a bull ring?

The reason a bull will appear to chase a matador’s red cape in a bull ring, is because the animal is being threatened. He charges the thing he sees moving around. The cape.

The colour of the cape is irrelevant, as was demonstrated by using different colours in a Discovery Channel myth-busting experiment.

So bull’s don’t chase the colour red. There is really no need to keep repeating this myth. It’s just not true.

Neither will avoiding wearing the colour red keep you safe from bulls. That’s not true either.

Thank you to Pixabay for the images used on this page.
Header by OpenClipart-Vectors and cartoon by Clker-free-Vector-Images