I used to walk across a small farm field on my way to work. Once I jumped the fence they kept their cows in. Those moo-therfrackers came at me real fast. Good thing I was faster.
It's not as uncommon as you may think. The last time I read in the papers of a fatal cow attack I was surprised to learn that there is on average more than one such fatality a year in the UK alone. There are many reported non-fatal attacks and probably many more unreported attacks.
Cattle tend to be defensive of the herd, particularly when calves are present. They are particularly agressive towards dogs, so the most commonly attacked people are dog walkers. And the most common attacks on dog walkers are where the dog is on the lead.
Unfortunately the general advice is for people to keep their dogs on leads when around farm animals. In the case of cattle this is not good advice. Dogs are generally fast an manoeverable and can get away from cows. Most people can't. So if you're near cows and your dog is on the lead and the cows seem disturbed or agressive - let go of the lead. The dog will take off, the cows will chase the dog away and normally leave the owner alone.
That is not to say of course that all attacks are on dog walkers. If the cows perceive your actions as a threat to the herd, they will attack. In general however it seems that they do not set out to kill but to drive the intruder away.
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I used to walk across a small farm field on my way to work. Once I jumped the fence they kept their cows in. Those moo-therfrackers came at me real fast. Good thing I was faster.
It's not as uncommon as you may think. The last time I read in the papers of a fatal cow attack I was surprised to learn that there is on average more than one such fatality a year in the UK alone. There are many reported non-fatal attacks and probably many more unreported attacks.
Cattle tend to be defensive of the herd, particularly when calves are present. They are particularly agressive towards dogs, so the most commonly attacked people are dog walkers. And the most common attacks on dog walkers are where the dog is on the lead.
Unfortunately the general advice is for people to keep their dogs on leads when around farm animals. In the case of cattle this is not good advice. Dogs are generally fast an manoeverable and can get away from cows. Most people can't. So if you're near cows and your dog is on the lead and the cows seem disturbed or agressive - let go of the lead. The dog will take off, the cows will chase the dog away and normally leave the owner alone.
That is not to say of course that all attacks are on dog walkers. If the cows perceive your actions as a threat to the herd, they will attack. In general however it seems that they do not set out to kill but to drive the intruder away.
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