Location: 2 people walking on the public footpath out of Belstone Cleave back towards Belstone on the top path near Skaigh.
Single cow, Belted Galloway.
Report: “We were walking single file along the narrow path when a single cow suddenly appeared from the undergrowth a couple of feet in front of us. In a split second it had knocked me to the ground and kicked me, my husband then shouted and it turned and head butted him in the chest sending him flying. It all happened in a few seconds, truly terrifying.”
“We suffered bruised ribs, legs and base of spine.”
Valerie suggests warning signs or maybe moving the cows to an enclosed field!
Location: Walking on Heart of England route just up from Blockley village and in field that runs parallel with the road from Blockley to Batsford Estate.
Account: I entered the field with my Jack Russell in a lead. I walked a few feet away from the stone wall on the very edge of the field. The cows were a good distance away. One cow looked up and stared at me. She went over to her calf and then just ran at my dog. She head butted my dog and scooped her in the air. As my dog was in the air I grabbed her and the cow was bellowing like a mad animal. She turned away and I thought I was safe. But she then ran at me and head butted me in my chest. I stumbled but didn’t fall. I was so near the wall so I jumped over the stone wall and barbed wire and lay in a ditch. The cow stayed bellowing at me and my dog, snorting and glaring at me, in this ditch. I had just about a foot width between the wall and barbed wire and a wire fence on the other side of the ditch.
I managed to get my phone and I rang 999. I honestly thought I was going to die. This cow was just reaching over the wall trying to reach me. The call operator from the fire brigade was great. They asked if I had what 3 words, I didn’t. I lay in this ditch for over 5 minutes, wedged between wire and the stone wall. When I couldn’t see the cow I popped my head up over the wall to see if it had gone.
The cow had walked off, but as soon as it saw my head, she came running over again, bellowing and shaking her head. At one point she followed the wall in front of me, I think she was looking for an opening to get to me. After some time I heard a human voice. I shouted, “help help, I’m behind the wall, are there any cows in the field?” A lady shouted back- ‘no’. So I put my head up again and the cows had moved into the next field. They have free access across 4 fields all on the public footpath. This lady, and her husband helped me and my dog over the wall. I could hardly breathe I was so frightened.
I know the walk as I walk it at least once a week. So I walked as quickly as possible to the gate and onto the road. There I just broke down and sobbed and saw how cut I was from jumping over the wall and barbed wire. The fire brigade found me as I went to the farmer whose cattle they are.
I thought I was safe, as I have lived in the country all my life. But most significantly I thought I was safe as the cows and their calves were out and free to walk all over the Monarch’s Way that is a very very popular walking route.
I thought there was no way they would be allowed to be free if they posed a risk. How wrong I was..”
Harry has reported this to the farmer, the police and the Health and Safety Executive.
“ Becki was walking on her own with her tiny Chihuahua on the lead when she was attacked and trampled by a herd of cows which included cows with calves of mixed breeds including Simmental, Limousine, Blonde D’Aquitaine, Aberdeen Angus and Limousin. She was trampled at 9.15pm and died at the scene. She was only 29 years old. The pre inquest was 21/12/2023 and the HSE have conducted a criminal investigation and served a prohibition notice on 21/07/2022. The HSE considers that a breach of the above law has occurred which is the Health and Safety at work Act 1974. Section 3 (2)
The farmer knew there was a problem as on the 1st July 2022 kids had been worrying the cattle and he reported it to the police but he did nothing to protect the public at large and our daughter was killed. She had a chihuahua called Zero who was so tiny the cows wouldn’t have even seen him because the grass was so over grown, so they attacked for no reason, or because of the incident with the kids. Becki wouldn’t have even gone anywhere near them with Zero because she would never put her baby at risk he was everything to her.
Becki’s inquest starts on the 14th October with a jury and will last 4 or 5 days.
To say the least we are totally heartbroken our daughter was our world we saw her everyday and spoke every evening before she went to bed, she had a business with her mum so as you can imagine we were so very very close.”
At killer cows we would like to say that we are so sorry for Becki’s death and her loss. We think it is very brave of David and her family to report this to us to warn others of the dangers of cattle.
David and his family add “We want farmers to be held responsible & prosecuted the same as anyone else who lets a dangerous dog or animal injure or kill an innocent member of the public”
Location: Near Stoke Gabriel Devon (What 3 words /// materials.double.survive)
Pete’s story
“The herd were not that far away when I entered the field, but I’m fairly used to walking through fields with cattle in this area. These were different than normal, all black in colour. I walked across the field, dog on lead, and they began to follow as a group. As we neared the gate on the far side, the lead animal started getting very close and aggressive, luckily the gate was near by now, so we just got through as the rest of the herd arrived. Very scary, though no injury.
I would like to see a national reporting site that can be followed up and acted on by HSE – eg warning livestock owners of incidents, dealing with rogue animals.”
Account “I had decided to walk down the road rather than across the footpath I had taken earlier as I had already been chased by a herd of cows. As I walked down the track I realised another herd was roaming free across the track and was blocking the path. I tried to walk as far away as I could, slowly and calmly. The young cows began to bolt around and as I passed 2 of the young cows began to rear up and run at me. I managed to get behind a wall and out onto the main road, I was so terrified by this.”
“During this walk trying to tick off 3 popular Ethels* I was plagued by cows –
>I was chased or approached in 2 fields,
>completely unable to cross 1 field due to aggressive cows hanging around the stile
>I had to leave a footpath and cross into another field over barbed wire due to a cow that had escaped it’s field,
>paralysed by fear walking down another bridleway because of several cows on a path that were stamping feet at me (thankfully a group of bikers appeared and helped me past)
>and then finally when I tried to choose a longer, less safe route back to the start (including a 2k walk on a busy country road with no pavement) I was chased by these bullocks.
I’m so angry that farmers can take no effort to protect walkers from harm and there is no recourse – even if that harm is sheer terror (have previously been attacked and harmed by cows)”
“I have tried to find contact information for the farmer but can’t find any.”
Location. Witton Weavers Way, Maiden House Farm, Blackburn, Lancashire
Account “This is the second incident in this precise field in 18 months. The first incident I hold myself responsible; I didn’t know what to do in the event of a cow attack and, as they began to approach me, I ran (which caused the whole herd to stampede after me). Luckily, the gate to the field which is usually open to the adjoining field was closed that day, and I dived over it.
After this first event, I was duly rattled and then did a bit of research on what to do if I am ever in a similar situation again.
Location: On public access land at Wheal Jewel reservoir – Dartmoor
I was walking on my own without a dog through open moor. I saw a group of cows and calves so I gave a wide berth – about 30 metres. The cows charged at me presumably to protect their calves. I jumped into a gorse bush and waited for them to go away. I thankfully only suffered a few minor scratches.
Location: Bottom of Cader Idris (just up from steps), Wales
2 people, no dog.
Account “We had walked up the steep steps on the Minfford Path route at the foot of Cader Idris, to a large open area with no cover. A cow with calves charged at me and my partner, we had driven two hours to go walking and turned back.”
Tom also adds:- “For public footpaths it should be illegal to have cows with calves roaming across them.”
Location: Near Newbold Astbury, Cheshire. Lat/long 53 08 40 N 002 13 46 W WTW – spoken.kicked.acid
1 person, no dog
Account “I was on a run at about 6p.m. I crossed into the field, which has quite a steep incline, so the cows weren’t immediately obvious. As I came over the brow of the hill I saw a number of cattle. A large bull started to run towards me and cut off the footpath. I moved through an open gateway into the next field and moved behind the hedge. There were also cattle in there. The original bull followed me, along with many other cattle from the 1st field. They surrounded me and were blocking the gateway I had come through. The front ones were about a metre away from me, including the original bull. I remained by the hedge, facing them, with my arms outstretched. I stood for about 25 minutes. Each time I tried to move they followed me. Eventually the original bull started eating (though he didn’t move away) and I was able to walk quickly around the herd and escape over the fence at the bottom of the field.”
Location: what 3 words melon.mural.tower – near Marston Montgomery, Derbyshire,
2 People, no dog.
Account: “We were walking down a supposed bridleway with our bikes, but it was completely overgrown so we had to push our bikes. There was a field to our right containing a herd of cattle and they were very unhappy with our presence. They were snorting and taking it in turns to faux charge. We were separated by a single waist high wire which may have saved us. We carried on walking calmly and they all ran about 50m further along the field to wait for us, still snorting and distressed. We stopped to discuss what we should do and they all ran back up to us. We decided we had no option but to walk on an adjacent field away from them and got away unscathed. There were no calves that we could see. We were scared by these cattle; we met some cows further along and they were fine.”
Suggestion from Ali – “The path being maintained would be a start. There could be more robust protection if the cows are known to be aggressive”
One of our members, Jill, appeared on Countryfile last weekend 21st July 2024 with her husband Mark talking about their attack three years ago, near Stockport, Greater Manchester, as part of farm safety week.
She was seriously injured by a herd of cows and older calves. She broke multiple bones and spent two weeks in ICU and a total of three months in hospital.
I don’t know if you realise how traumatic the recall of her story must be for both her and her husband and how brave both she, and other people who tell their story are, to spread awareness in the hope that it will save others from the same fate.
Her full story was also reported in the Manchester Evening News. the link is included below plus a picture of the brave couple in a much happier picture.
Location: On the Cotswold way in the first field just above Thrift Wood farm just outside Wood Stanley.
“As we entered the field, we saw there were young cattle across the path. The dog was on a very short leash. We walked slowly and calmly up the field. The cows who were already quite close and on the path itself. They started to show an interest in us and the dog, coming slowly towards us then running and mooing. We let the dog off the lead and she ran up the hill. The cows started coming towards us very quickly. Luckily there was a closed metal farmers gate of the side of the field and we made towards that with the cows very close and climbed over. Luckily the dog could squeeze under it as I am sure she would have been stood on. It was very scary and we then spent a long time trying to find an alternative route.”
Cattle Safety 