Category: Injuries

Walker headbutted by cows

Report: 1176

Date: 3/8/25

Location: ///rattler.fulfilled.beaters near Long Lawford, Warwickshire

2 people 1 dog

Report: “I was walking with my partner on our normal route to walk our dog and noticed in the distance some cows on one side of the bridge that we needed to cross. There was a lady and a gentleman walking towards us who appeared to have already come from that direction. My dog was heeling next to me off lead as we passed the man and woman, though I put him onto a short lead soon after this so we could get past the cattle. (We practice this often with cattle, sheep and horses, and he is always very focused on me.) We were quite close to the herd, maybe 3 meters, and they were stationary, all on the left hand side of the bridge – about 4 young calves were closest to the bridge/river. As we were about 5 meters from reaching the bridge, one cow started to charge towards me, then moo’d, I let go of my dogs lead who ran away towards the right hand side of the bridge, and the cow headbutted me to the floor. I think another cow must have turned to look at the dog as I was suddenly surrounded by at least two cows, as I was in the floor and pinned between two cows. I stood up as quick as I could, but was still being headbutted while doing so.

I was shouting with my arms up to try and appear larger, backing away slowly and trying to get towards the bridge. Luckily I was close enough to the bridge to get through, the dog was close next to it so I could call him through, and my partner was already safe behind the barrier. They were both unharmed. During the incident I realised I had dropped my phone, so I stayed on the bridge for about 5/10 minutes to see if the herd would move. The two people who we had recently passed were at the other side of the field behind a gate and shouted if we were ok – I shouted back that we were all ok, but I had dropped my phone. I think this shouting then scared the herd who walked away towards a house. I was then safely able to retrieve my phone from the ground and go back home, noticing that I had a painful right hip and painful left shin.

My left shin is very swollen, I am able to walk ok but I needed to ice as soon as I was home. I’m unsure if the shin injury is from being headbutted or not, as I can’t remember if one or two cows were headbutting me. There is a small bruise currently though I feel it will spread due to the amount of swelling. My right hip is also bruised – I think this was from being head butted as this side is where the main cow was attacking me from.

I walk this route often and there are no signs about cows, I haven’t seen them in this part of the field before. There are horses the other side of the field and there are sometimes signs about not feeding the horses, but no signs about cows

I feel like it was completely my fault, and I shouldn’t have even tried to go near the cows with their young. I was more focused on keeping my dog in heel so he wouldn’t sniff or interfere with the cows – I didn’t even think the cows would attack, and now I feel quite stupid! Especially since my partner has been chased by cows before and fears them, the fact that two people had already walked from that direction made me feel like we would be fine. I don’t blame the cattle for protecting their young, though I wish I had been wiser. I am lucky that no one was trampled, as it was very close.”

Walker trampled in Rishton, Lancashire

Report: 1172

Date: 30/7/25

Location: It took place on the Public Right of Way, continuous with Cut Lane in Rishton, Lancashire. What3words: retail.face.holly

1 person 1 dog

Report: “I was walking my dog on a lead on the public right of way approaching the bridge which leads past Cut Lane Farm. I was aware that there were cows with calves in the field, close to the track which is the public right of way. I heeled my dog close to me on my left hand side, away from the cattle. Suddenly, a group of cows turned towards us and charged. I was headbutted, thrown to the ground and was then trampled by several cows. I was screaming for my life and believed that I was going to die. I have sustained severe bruises to my legs, arms, chest and foot, and have received medical care for a suspected broken rib. Fortunately, my dog managed to escape across the cattle grid and seems unscathed.”

“I have severe bruising to my legs, arms, foot and chest. I am keen walker and runner, but now I am now frightened of walking/running in the countryside. I was treated in A&E, probable fractured rib.”

“There was a warning sign saying “Bull in field” and a sign saying “No dogs allowed on farmland” or something to that effect.”

“I have reported this attack to the police and HSE.”

“I would like to see cows, especially those known to pose a threat and those with calves, cordoned off from public rights of way.“

Lancashire cattle cause significant injuries

Case No. 1155

Date of Incident 16 06 2025

Location On PROW Higham, Lancashire

1 walker, 1 dog on lead

Cows with calves, heifers and bullocks – brown

Account “I was suddenly surrounded and tried to pull the dog in but then it all kicked off. I don’t remember everything but was I knocked onto the ground and eventually let go of the lead when I realised I was in real trouble. I remember being butted while on the ground but don’t actually remember how I get away. I had 3 broken ribs, facial injuries, leg injuries and was kept in hospital for 1 week.”

Respondent also states “Don’t put crazy cows in open access areas.”

Derbyshire cow attack knocks man unconscious

Case No. 1154

Date of Incident: 15 06 2025

Location: On PROW near High Stool Farm, Flagg, Derbyshire – WTW – cloud.carpeted.bluffs

2 people, 2 dogs

Cows with calves

Account “We entered the field on the right of way. Our dogs were on a close lead. The cows started running towards us. One charged at my husband and knocked him to the ground. He was unconscious for sometime. Cows were headbutting his head. I ran back and made myself big and loud to try and keep the cows away. My husband finally came to and he struggled to the next field. He had a very swollen face, black eye, and substantial bruising. He was admitted to hospital for his injuries. We discovered in hospital he had 3 broken vertebrae in his lumber spine and bruised/broken ribs he was in hospital overnight and is still under hospital care. This has been reported to the police and local authority.”

Respondent also states “The trauma for me was unbelievably awful. I thought my husband was dead and the incident has seriously impacted my walking confidence and seriously impacted my husbands health”

Chris was butted over by a cow in Suffolk

Case No. 1153

Date of Incident: 30 06 2025

Location: On PROW near Bruisyard Hall, Suffolk

2 walkers, 2 dogs

Group of cows

Account “We were walking with my dogs on leads, who are country dogs used to cattle, no barking or stress from the dogs, with my 21 year old son. We walked past the cattle with no problems then one of the cows closed in, then charged me, butted one of my legs that knocked me over, then bucked it’s rear legs up like a horse. I managed to get up. The other 10 cattle then began to follow us as we started to leave the field. We raised our arms shouting – we were afraid, as they all were closing in and we were in the middle of the field, they then dispersed after we shouted. I used to live on a dairy farm and am used to cattle but I’ve never seen behaviour like this before. There were signs warning of a bull in the field – but there was no bull. I’ve reported this to the farmer.”

Respondent also states “There should be warning signs on gates with contact numbers to report any incident and ideally banning cows from public footpath sites”

Steve Teal, an experienced walker, attacked by a cow in The Chilterns

Incident number 1146
Date of incident: 21.06.25
Site: What3words: ///pinch.infringe.builders (Ellesborough, Aylesbury)
Cows with calves in field.
1 walker, no dog


Steve’s Description: “I was walking towards Ellesborough Church when a large, completely black cow ran at me, head down, knocking me over before I could reach the gate. I fell onto a hard chalk path, knocked my head above my right eye, I had a cut to my knee and grazes to my legs and arms, and to add insult to injury covered in something unmentionable.”

Additional comment from Steve: “I have walked and hiked many hundreds of miles though woods, farmland and mountains and this is my first experience of cows acting aggressively. I’m so pleased I found your website to report it. Good luck with your campaign.”

Peak Hiker is attacked and butted by a cow

Incident number 1143
Date of incident: 21.06.25
Site: Attacked by a cow on the footpath between Foolow and Wardlow Mires, 200 yards north of
Wardlow Mires 3 Stags Heads pub. Derbyshire.
Cows with calves, pale colour, bigger than a Jersey cow.
I person, no dog

Description: ” I was walking down the foot path towards Wardlow Mires. A single cow from a small group
of cows with calves charged and knocked me against a dry stone wall, butting me repeatedly. The wall saved me from being trampled. I have lacerations to my right arm and hand.”
Additional comment: “Let as many people know how dangerous cows can be as possible. Farmer should take more care in alerting hikers to the dangers.”

Cow attack on Bronte Moorland in Yorkshire

Incident number: 1135
Date of incident: 17.02.24
Site: The Bronte way above Leeming Reservoir in Oxenhope, West Yorkshire
2 people, 1 dog.

Report: “I was walking with my friend and we spotted the cows lying down on the moor above us to the right of the path. We moved over, putting a broken wall between ourselves and the cows. We didn’t see any calves. My dog was further away to the left. One cow stood up and charged through a gap in the wall and went for the dog who ran off. It then turned and knocked me to the ground. Hitting me with its head and stamping its feet. Our dog returned to me and the cow went for her again. I staggered down the hill. I turned around to check what was happening and the cow charged at me again. It knocked me down. I curled up in a ball, thinking I was going to die. My friend stood and shouted and eventually the cow went back to the others. I staggered to the nearest road and was taken by ambulance to hospital.”

“I sustained : 7 broken ribs, a large hematoma on my right leg and a punctured lung. I was in Airedale hospital for three days. We found out later that 3 cows had calves on the moor the night before the attack. The health and safety executive were informed and the farmer has admitted liability.”

“I thoroughly agree that cows should not be on public footpaths.“


Pushed against the fence by cattle

Report number: 1127
Date of incident: 2/6/25
Location: Bourneheath. Near Bromsgrove
1 person and a dog

Report: “I entered the field with my dog on a short lead. The cows were some distance away so I was not worried. I always keep to the side of a field when there are cows. When I had been walking for about 2 minutes, they all ran towards me. I let my dog go as I knew this is what you should do. The cows ran at my dog. My dog panicked and ran out of the field. I slowly started to walk to the exit of the field. The cows then ran at me. They formed a semi circle around me. They were all pushing each other out of the way to try to get to me. They pushed me against the fence. I was very scared and was silently crying. I phoned my friend who is a dairy farmer. She told me to stamp my right foot and wave my arm. They moved back so I could gently ease out of the field. Thankfully a member of the public had my dog. My arm was covered in blood from where I had been shoved against the barbed wire. I was so scared. I genuinely thought I was going to die.”

“I honestly feel like I did everything right. I have no idea why they charged at me or wouldn’t leave me alone. After I left the field they were mooing very loudly. It was a terrifying experience.”

Anthony is savagely attacked by cattle

Report number: 1128
Date of the attack: 4/5/25
Location: Public footpath leading to Nuthurst Village, near Horsham, West Sussex ///cucumber.rectangular.explorer
3/5 people and a dog on a lead

Anthony’s report: The public footpath cut through the middle of the field that had a herd of cows and calves. I have walked this field many times and told my friend and 7 year old son that we should be careful not separate the cows from their calves. The cows then moved away from us leaving the path clear for us to walk through. But they then circled behind us and started to approach aggressively. This spooked my dog who remained on the lead and the cows then charged and trampled me and continued a sustained attack. Every time I tried to get up they knocked me down. One cow in particular then led the ongoing attack using its hooves, head and horns. Holding onto its horns bought me some time until my friend was able to rescue my 7 year old son who was thankfully uninjured and then return to yell at the cows to distract them. This made them back off and I was able to get up and limp to the fence and climb over and call the emergency services who sent a helicopter and ambulance.”

“I have multiple broken ribs. Stitches to a large open wound on my leg. A large haematoma on the side of my head. I spent 5 days in the trauma unit of Brighton Hospital.”


“I have reported this to the local school and vet to help raise awareness.”

“I have much sympathy for farmers but I think that cows with calves should not be allowed on fields with unprotected public footpaths.“

Headbutted and jostled by cattle

Report number: 1126

Date of icident: 1/6/25

Location: What 3 words: ///delays.gilding.cooking Public trail that goes through farmland between Barry and Dyffryn Gardens

2 people no dog

Report: “No signage on entrance to the field, the footpath passes through three fields, so by the time you see the bulls it is too late. They immediately ran across the field at us, one appeared to be at the head of them and we had to dodge. I had my 18month old daughter in a backpack and the bulls headbutted me as well as my wife, we shouted at them and tried to hold our ground but they were extremely angry. We were jostled and pushed by around 20 aggressive animals as we made our way to the final stile which was thankfully close. I have heard since that other local people avoid this field for this very reason, and that this farmer is known in the area as disliking people on “his” land, and is certainly being effective at discouraging people from using the public footpath.”

“I am a fit and healthy man, I weigh 220lb and have both boxed and played rugby, the bulls hurt when they hit me, I dread to think what they could do to a child or elderly person.“

“I feel fields with large animals should have a fenced off path around the boundary for walkers to keep people safe.”

2 near misses – frightened walkers following promoted routes, no dogs; they needed to climb over barbed wire fences to get to safety.

Report number: 1113

Date of incident: 22/5/25

Location: Aberaeron to Henfynway walk from Ceredigion 40 coasts and Country Walks by Julian Rollins Page 17 starts with ‘on the far side of field ..I crossed a footbridge across the Ceri and entered the paddock.. this is the field.’

1 person no dog

Report: “I entered the field quietly and saw them grazing a distance away .I took my sunglasses off and walked around the perimeter of field aiming for the exit gate. Before I knew it they all ran towards me I shouted but no avail. I climbed over barbed wire into nettles and branches. I was frightened as I could see I was on a shallow embarkment and if I lost my balance I would fall down a long slope. Getting panicky I phoned a friend who contacted the police ..by this time my phone had died. I waited for the cattle to loose interest and move, which took ages. I struggled to get back over as I was on a slope, there was a big fallen log that I had to roll under, then I used a big branch to climb over the barbed wire and ran to gate. This completely ruined my holiday, there should be big signs warning of potential dangers.“

Report number: 1114

Date of incident: 25/5/25

Location: We were completing the Charlton Viaduct loop from Shepton Mallet and when the incident occurred we were in one of the fields above Wells Road, on Darshill.

2 people no dog

Report: “The cows were pasturing in front of the gate we were supposed to go through. We approached the cows from far away as they noticed us. We were approximately 50 metres away when they saw us. We kept walking in their direction but they suddenly started running towards us. It was between 10-15 cows. Our reaction was to turn around and walk away (towards they direction we came from). When we turned our heads to look at them, they were closer and kept coming toward us and charging us. At that point we realised that the other access was too far and the only option we had was running down hill off path into a bush full of spikes and nettles which resulted in scratches all over. We then reached the main road but had to jump over barbed wire. The injuries resulted from escaping the cattle as the only escape was off the path in a bramble bush. Plus we had to jump over barbed wire to leave the field.”

Killer Cows comment: Walkers should expect a level of safety when following a promoted path. Cattle should be separated from walkers.