charging cows – Cattle Safety

John was nearly killed by cows, HSE decide that a few signs will make this safe for future walkers.

Report: 1284

Date: 02/08/21

Location: Todmorden, West Yorkshire. On footpath from East Whirlaw Farm to Style Road. Approximate map reference 255 936 on OS Map OL21

Single careful walker, no dog

John’s report: “I skirted around a group of cows as I walked downhill, but a number of the calves started to follow me. After that the cows started to run towards me and as I stumbled and fell , one or two cows trampled on me. I managed to phone my wife who came to assist me with our brother-in-law. My sister-in-law went to the farmer’s house and asked him to move the cattle. He was very reluctant, saying that it was his son’s job. He was only persuaded to move them when the air ambulance said that it would be dangerous to land with the cattle in such close proximity.”

It could have ended so badly near Speaks Mill, Hartland

Incident number: 1269

Response ID: 329,908,514

Date of incident: March 3^rd 2026

Location: Hartland near Speaks Mill on the SW coastal path

Status: Group of walkers with two dogs on a lead on PRoW

Dani’s story “Walking along the SW coastal path following an All Trails app trail when we come to a gate with no signage what so ever. Two adult males, a teenage male and myself a lone female, two dogs on leads with us, continued to walk the path and we came across cows in the middle of the field. They all suddenly turned attention on us, one cow with horns started charging and jumping at us which made them all start to run at us. Cliff edge with a huge drop a couple of metres to our right so we had to choice but to run to the other gate (we didn’t know not to run at the time as never encountered this aggression in cows before) We had to walk back through this field again on the walk back to get back to the car, we didn’t see any signs of the cows this time as we got to the gate which again had no signs, they were right at back of the field rather than near the cliff edge so thought we were safe but to our shock they again made their way from all the way at the back right corner of the field to the coastal path again trying to charge at us. The male members of our group waved arms and made loud noises but it didn’t stop them charging at us so again we just ran. I didn’t know the advice regarding letting the dog leads go in this scenario but to be honest I know both of my dogs would have just stayed by my side regardless.

I think we were so SO lucky not to be injured or worse in this instance and I only think it’s because our group members thought to try scare them that it confused them a bit. I genuinely experience trauma and PTSD from this experience it could have ended so badly”

Letting go of his dog probably saved Michael’s life

Report 1259, Response ID 329,768,059, Single walker and dog, group of cows with calves and a bull

6/6/26 Location: Between Blore & Thorpe, Ashbourne on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border. On a bridle path between Coldwall Bridge and Coldwell Farm. The Limestone Way runs through the field as well as another public right of way. What three words are ‘chop.doubts.rotation’

Michael’s report: “Dog on the lead, tucked in behind me. I saw the cows with calves, and gave them a really wide berth but I saw a couple of cows running towards me from a distance away. I was knocked to the ground and then the other cows started gathering around. I sustained a serious leg injury which requires surgery. I let go of the dog and he bolted towards the gate and the cows chased him which probably saved my life.”

Michael added “Better signage would be a start. Also I’ve been informed by other farmers that it’s not appropriate to keep cows with calves near a very busy public footpath, there are 3 public footpaths running through the field in question. The following day a sponsored walk was taking place with 300 walkers set to walk through the field. I believe the farmer was made aware of the walk but chose not to move his cattle.”

Killer Cows comments: Michael has informed Police, HSE, Local Council Rights of Way Office, the Farmer, The Peak District National Park. We hope he makes a good recovery.

Aggressive or curious cattle? Either pose a risk to walkers.

3 recent reports follow, 2 with dogs, 1 without. All the walkers felt worried enough by the cattle’s behaviour and exited the field across potentially dangerous routes. People may argue some of the cows were “just” curious or playful rather than aggressive. If a 1/2 ton of animal is “curious” and comes charging towards you or pins you to a gate, that is dangerous. Cattle pose a risk to walkers. So what is the solution?

Signs indicating dangerous cattle in the field will not happen as the law states no dangerous animals should be kept on land with public access. Banning dogs across fields of cattle clearly will not solve the problem, half of our reports are from people with no dog. Educating people to “respect the cows” will not help, you can respect a charging cow as much as you like, but it won’t make you safe. Giving cattle a wide berth, not getting between a calf and mother, having a calm dog on a short lead – all good ideas but we have reports from those who follow all the above and yet were attacked. The solution is fencing off cattle from walkers. Read the following reports and decide what you would do in that situation.

Family attacked

Report number: 1240 Date 9/5/26 Location: Newlyns Farm field, Lodge Farm Odiham, Hampshire

Bec’s Report: “2 children (8y and 14y) along with their Aunt and dog entered field through kissing gate coming from the canal tow path into field. Aunt holds onto dog collar as the dog owner (my father 73) and myself are a few metres behind them. The first group (children, Aunt, dog) walk along footpath into field, myself and father enter field some seconds later approx 10-15 metres behind. By the time the first group reaches a bridge crossing the stream at the middle of the field one cow begins to bellow and the children become scared. Aunt and dog stop to wait for my father who has the dog lead as aunt is currently walking hunched over holding the dogs collar. I walk faster to catch up with my children, we walk together towards gate at opposite side of field quickly but not running. As we are walking away from my father, Aunt and dog we continue to hear bellowing of the cow and I see it is moving towards them. There are many cows and calves in the field, at least 20 I think, maybe more. Many cows are slowly advancing towards us but one particular big brown cow (the one who is bellowing) circles around and charges at my father who is now holding onto the dog collar and trying to put lead on.”

Popular walking route with unsafe cattle roaming across it

Report number:1234

Date: 4/5/26

Location: On the side of the river Arun just past Arundel castle

2 people with dog

Laura’s report: “We were walking on the footpath and the cows were quite a way to our right, to our left was the river. The cows started coming over, we went down towards the river but it was knee deep bog. The cattle kept following so I walked on ahead, so they would leave my partner and the dog along. I managed to get to and jump in a cattle pen, the cows surrounded that and were pushing it trying to get in. I ended up having to climb over the fence behind me which was adjacent to the railway and crawl through undergrowth to get away. I then distracted the cows while my partner and dog got away by climbing along the river bank, under a bridge and we then had to pass our dog across the fence to the railway line before skirting it and getting away. There was no other way. The cattle should have been fenced in, this is a very popular hiking route.”

Laura adds “I’ve also been chased by cows in a field close to my home in east Grinstead, my dog was on a lead and we entered the field quite a way away and intended to skirt round the edge and out, the cattle came charging at us. We only got away because there was a scaffold plank crossing from one field to the next, which slowed them down”

Cattle charged at walkers – this could have been prevented by a simple fence

Incident number: 1229
Response ID 329,262,000 Date: 16/4/26
Location: Preston Bagot, Warwickshire. Grid reference 176644

2 people, no dog

Report: “Walking around the edge of a field the cows charged. I had to climb over a barbed wire fence while my husband ran around the corner of the field.
It would be great to see special fencing protecting public footpaths that are frequently used for cattle grazing.”
Minor injuries were sustained and the incident was reported to the police & the local authority who said they would log the incident and that it is important to report them.

Ensuring Safety on a Walking Holiday: Cattle Management

We all have a right to walk safely along footpaths, and we can’t predict which cattle will be aggressive.

Walking holidays in the UK are great for several reasons:

There are so many different areas to discover. Our countryside is beautiful and very diverse.
We can get there without jumping on a plane – that makes me happy as I hate the palaver of flying, getting to the airport early, queuing through security, waiting with hundreds of others etc….. Also, I am trying to not take flights to keep my carbon footprint down.
We have a fantastic network of public footpaths, and bridleways, across England and Wales, giving walkers access to some stunning locations.
We know that spending our money locally helps our economy.

Charged at by cattle

Report 1224

Response ID 328,834,077

Location: Doynton High Street – field off footpath up the steps on the right when leaving the village along the High Street

Date 07/03/26

Katie’s report: “I entered the field with my dog on a short lead, I did not see any cows. As I walked into the field and turned I realised a group of black cattle, possibly bullocks, were there. My dog was very close to me. The cows started chasing and charging towards me. I had to pick up my dog and scream at them to get them to stop. They chased me to a stream which I fell into trying to escape.”

Katie comments: “There should be signs!!!!! Or even better, no cattle on fields with footpaths.”

Close call near Ilminster

Report: 1175

Date: 2/8/25

Location: Near Ilminster, Somerset. Exact location: lined.otter.trout

1 person no dog

Report from Matthew: “I saw cattle were in the field but I managed to sneak into the field and walked quietly around the edge without them noticing but as I was nearing the exit, the herd noticed me and charged – very fast and making a lot of noise! I continued walking quickly (not running) and narrowly made it to the gate and got through just before they reached me. Scary.”

Chased by cattle on an exposed part of the Cornish Coastal Path

Report: 1167

Date: 26/7/2025

Location: Coastal path in North Cornwall, near Castle Point, St Gennys

1 person and dog

Report: “The cows ran to me and surrounded me, chasing my dog into a blackthorn bush over the cliff edge and also surrounding me. I stood my ground but had to shout at them to get a way out.

My dog was stuck in the blackthorn, but was lucky to be unharmed, I managed to get her out. She was less than a foot off from going over the edge of the cliff

The cows should not have been on such an exposed path. I am confident around cows so could deal with them. But the incident was very frightening, they were after my dog and very nearly killed her by forcing her off the cliff.”

Chased by cattle on The Cotswold Way

Report: 1164

DATE: 23/6/2025

Location: A field just off of Church Road in Cheltenham Gloucestershire, part of the Cotswold Way

3 people, 2 dogs

Report: “The cows were all the way on the far side of the field away from the gate that we were walking towards. We entered the field and started walking towards the next gate which would take us into the next field (without cows) to continue along the Cotswold Way. The cows started staring at us and flicking their tails, we kept calm, our dogs were kept on leads the whole time, they were not provoking or paying attention to the cows. The cows started to walk over slowly, we became a bit wary of this.

We almost got to the next gate and one cow started charging at me. Our group unfortunately split because we panicked and ran a bit away from it. We were now far from exit routes within the field and started to calmly walk back to the nearest one, the dogs still were not provoking it or doing anything to rile the cows. Then out of nowhere they charged at us, and there were around 20 cows in this field; they all started charging, the three of us got split, one of us ran towards the original exit and the other two of us ran other ways. All of these cows were suddenly charging towards one person, and luckily her and her dog got out of the gate, if she had been 3 seconds slower they would have trampled her and as there were so many of them I think the outcome would have been bad.

I luckily scrambled under a barbed wire fence into the second field as there was no way I could have walked safely out from that field. The third person managed to scramble over a fence because they didn’t have a dog. The cows stayed waiting at the fence staring at us.”