one of the most I've done dangerous things A hiker walks through a bull field above the Atlantic coast near the Cornish village of Boscastle.
As the grandson of a farmer, I grew up thinking that cattle are kind, peaceful animal They are always more afraid of you than you are of them.
On that cold January afternoon, with the salty sea breeze caressing my cheeks, I had no time Reflect on whether this is truebut probably not. As I walked briskly toward the fence at the other end of the field (my escape route), I remember thinking that the 20 or so half-ton animals charging toward me would probably end up with me before I reached the other side. Channels intersect.
Despite my confusion, a very clear instruction echoed in my brain: “Whatever you do, don't run” (BTW, this is a very interesting book Author: Peter Allison about life as a wildlife guide in Namibia).
I stood my ground (not out of courage, I should add, but because in that moment I I don’t particularly want to die). I might even charge them a little bit for the simulation. No matter what I did, they stopped a few meters away from me in confusion.
I breathed a sigh of relief, but still found a way to exit the battlefield. This is when things get even more disturbing. Every time I turn around and walk a few more meters, I realize that the leader prancing on front hooves Just like a horse performing dressage. Or like a bull about to charge.
In England, regular walkers acquired the useful ability of glancing under cows out of the corner of their eyes. Determine if it has breasts. I couldn't find an udder anywhere in the herd, which made me even more uneasy.
I turned around again and walked a few meters forward. The bull resumed his prancing. I stopped again. They also stopped. Let's continue this strange dance Walking all the way to the field boundary, I stepped over the fence like Colin Jackson (faster, in fact), my heart pounding like a 10-ounce steak being slammed to a board by a deranged butcher superior. Living is a joy and a surprise at the same time.
this This is not my only story. On a backpacking expedition in the Welsh mountains, I remember crossing the bottom edge of a sloping field with a large backpack slung over my shoulders. A herd of cattle stood above me to the left, glaring viciously at me. To my lower right, there is a barbed wire fence, invented for trench warfare during World War I so that the enemy could more easily be machine-gunned. The war ended in 1918, but British farmers still used barbed wire to make walkers more vulnerable to bulls while unbuttoning their torn trousers.
Standing a few meters in front of me next to the fence is… (organ music crescendos)……one calf.
From an early age, my father—who was both a farmer’s son and also happened to be an animal psychologist—explained to me that while cows are generally not aggressive, when they give birth to calves is the exception. He knew very well that unless I knew what I was doing, I should Never come between a cow and her calf. Needless to say, I had no idea what I was doing most of the time.
Now I'm slowly walking towards a calf, its mother and her friends looking at me suspiciously. It occurred to me that unless it was moving very quickly, I wouldn't be right between the calf and its mother, but I would be between its mother and a calf. Barrier designed for trench warfare. I turned around and walked back the way I came.
Every Friday night, Edita and I walk to a pub 15 minutes from our home in the Cotswolds. Our usual route was through a field with a “Bulls Enter Field” sign at the entrance. Farmers are supposed to remove or cover this sign when the bull isn't there, but this particular sign appears to be a permanent fixture, which of course means – and I'm sorry to say this – that most of the time the sign is crap. But if we spot fresh cattle on the other side of this sign, we'd rather walk along the main road where cars whiz by at 60 miles an hour. It seems safer. When we do this, the cows often run up to the fence (barbed wire of course) and follow us as we walk along the road next to them, Jumping up and down like a madman (Cows, not us).
Three miles in a field in the other direction, we once witnessed a herd charging a father and his two young children as they rode across the field on their small bicycles with stabilizers. children are scream in terror. Fortunately, the father remained calm and carried the children to safety as the cattle surrounded them.
Just last Saturday, Edita and I had to divert our attention at the edge of a field when Despicable looking white bull It stood up and rushed within 20 meters of us. To our relief, it suddenly stopped with a look on its face that said “get out of my territory.” In the style of an Olympic 50km race walker, we finish the race as fast as we can, but are not allowed to suddenly start running.
Now, I anticipate that some of my international readers might be thinking, what on earth are you doing Walking through these fields filled with mad cows?
The reason is that in the UK we have a A network of public footpaths across private land. Much of it is farmland, and The law prohibits very few Farmers can put whatever they want there, whether it's a public sidewalk or not. For example, while it's illegal for farmers to keep certain breeds of dairy cows in public places, beef cattle are OK as long as the cows are present (presumably the beef cows are too busy mating to notice the people passing by). Cows with calves are also good, as are lively bulls like the ones I encountered above Boscastle. Farmers do not need to fence to separate cattle from the footpath route.
You may be wondering, Is this really a big problem? What if cows weren't dangerous?
one Recent articles from The Guardian describes a series of terrible event Walkers were trampled by cattle as they tried to cross fields on a public footpath. They included a woman who spent ten days on a ventilator in hospital with a shattered pelvis and punctured lungs, surviving only as her husband dragged her mangled body to safety.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 22 people in the UK killed by cattle The 4-year period from 2019 to 2023. A quarter of them were walkers (mostly farm workers). Most walkers are accompanied by dogs, which makes the cows more aggressive. this killer cow websiteis a real website designed to report cow-related incidents by a walker who himself was bitten by a cow, and has reported 889 incidents since 2017.
it Not necessarily so. one Letter from a French lady In response to the Guardian article, it was explained that this does not actually happen in France, as the paths follow the edges of fields with fences in the middle. while walking Mont Blanc Tour Last month (more on that in a future post) I was amazed to see how freely cows were crossing the top of a mountain. I was equally surprised to find how little cord (a small piece of string you would use to hang clothes) to keep them off the trail.
While researching this article I discovered some Very sensible guidelines On the blog of a company called CXCS, which advises farmers on regulatory issues. These include such common sense without thinking For example, do not keep cows with calves in fields on public access, do not keep animals showing signs of aggression in fields on public access, and if cows need to be kept in fields, erect temporary structures next to public walkways. Fence the route and make sure route walkways are clearly marked.
From years of experience walking carefully around cattle, I have to say that these guidelines are often ignored by farmers. I may be getting paranoid, but I also suspect the cows are becoming more unstable (you could say they're more prone to fluctuations). If guidelines are being ignored, it’s time to have a discussion turn them from guidelines into law?
In the meantime, if this article worries you, the Ramblers Association has another set of guidelines for Successfully crossed the cattle farm without being killed. Happy trampling…I mean aimless.
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