"Like a bull in a china shop"

I've always imagined it much like this, from the BBC:

Cattle news

From The Daily Mail:

* Sharon Eley, 51, was surround by 20 cows who headbutted her in a brutal attack in the Lancashire countryside.
* She was walking through the countryside with her dog and a friend when they encountered violent animals
* Her injuries included 15 broken ribs, a punctured lung, shattered ankle and broken clavicle and severe bruises
* A keen and experienced walker, Sharon spent a month in hospital and underwent two surgeries to repair ankle
* She is now urging others to be wary when they cross fields with cows in them so they may avoid the same fate

Don't cross fields with cows in them, full stop. And what's often fatal is having a dog with you, especially if there are calves present, which there were in this case.

Her companion warned her about this: "It was only when they entered the second field that they spotted the 20 cows, including calves, huddled together around 20ft away. 'My friend said to me 'oh God I'm not sure about this Sharon' and I said 'it's ok, we'll just wide berth them,' Ms Eley said. 'Don't worry, don't run, it's all good, just stand behind me, don't worry about it'."

And this year's Spanish bull runs were a huge success, from the bulls' point of view. From the BBC:

Three men have died in 24 hours from wounds suffered during bull-running festivals in eastern Spain. They had all taken part in the Valencia region's traditional bous al carrer (bull-running), when bulls charge through towns, often with people running ahead of them.

Animal rights groups have long complained of the dangers for the public as well as the animals. They say 20 people have died in the region in the past eight years.

Cow attacks hit the headlines

From the BBC:

Ram Raj was drinking tea at his home in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on a chilly November evening last year when a stray cow attacked him.

Over the next few minutes, his young grandchildren screamed and watched in horror as the animal mauled him. The 55-year-old farmer died of severe injuries on the way to hospital. "It was a painful death and my mother-in-law has stopped having proper meals ever since," his daughter-in-law, Anita Kumari, said.

Such attacks have become common in India's most populous state, where a ban on cow slaughter has led to a huge rise in the cattle population. So much so that they have become an issue in the state's upcoming elections, which are set to begin on 10 February.

That's what you call unforeseen consequences on an epic scale. But hey, people use and abuse voters' religious beliefs to gain power, and damn the consequences.

"Jeremy Clarkson suffers 'smashed testicles' after cow attack"

From Bang Showbiz:

"I think this was the lowest point in my farming career to date. Being attacked by a cow while on my knees, in the mud, in a storm, with smashed testicles. And all so I can make beef for a restaurant that I probably won’t be allowed to open. I was very miserable."

Cow attacks usually just involve a careless dog walker, or occasionally an unlucky farm worker. It's nice to see a celebrity joining in the fun every now and then.

"Woman in her 30s is airlifted to hospital after being attacked by a COW"

Spotted by TBH in The Daily Mail:

South Wales Police read [sic]: 'At around 3pm yesterday, emergency services were called to a farm in Southgate, Swansea, where a woman, reportedly in her 30s, had been struck by a cow. She was airlifted to University Hospital of Wales where she is being treated for her injuries.'

It is not known what happened to the cow, though there are some unconfirmed reports that it was shot.

That's not much of a sanction, given what happens to most cattle.

The Gower commons are traditionally grazed by local commoners' animals. It is legal in the area and considered to be an essential part of the farm economy of the Gower Peninsula area, as well as being helpful to maintain natural habitats.

That's true! We were on holiday there a few years ago. They don't seem to bother with fences and some sheep sauntered off their field and lay down in the middle of the road, luckily they moved on after a minute or two.

And now, some sensible advice they should print on the back of every tin of dog food:

Pennard Community Council warns on its website that people in the area should 'be aware' of grazing farm animals on the commons and should follow these precautions:
Keep dogs on a leash whenever near grazing animals, unless animals chase the dog, then just let go of the dog;
Keep young children under close parental control;
Do not come between cows and their calves;
Observe the presence of a bull (or bulls) and do not go between them and the cows;
Do not approach within 5m of grazing cattle;
Do not walk between closely assembled grazing animals.

"Remember the safety risks when managing cattle"

A personal injury lawyer offers some sage advice in Farmers' Weekly:

Three very different accidents, but with the same common cause, highlight the hazards and potential tragedies caused by cattle on British farms.

One of these involved water buffalo when, in May 2020, Ralph Jump, 57, who kept the animals at his Monmouthshire farm, entered the field to free the hay ring for his bull, after it became caught on an electric fence. He was attacked by the bull, and his 19-year-old son, Peter, who went to his aid, was also injured. Both men died.

In a second accident, Marian Clode was killed when on holiday in Northumberland. She and her family were walking on a public bridleway at the same time as the farmer was moving his cattle to winter pasture. A group of cows broke away and stampeded down the track. Mrs Clode was unable to get out of the way and was repeatedly hit, causing fatal injuries.

Giving evidence at the subsequent inquest, the farmer said he had been moving cattle for more than 40 years without incident. He conceded: “I think, with hindsight, we could all do things differently, but at the time I thought we had a good plan that reduced the risks.”

The third incident was in Northern Ireland, when 24-year-old Ian Beacom, working on his family farm, was crushed by a cow when he got into the cattle crush to administer medication. Although his spleen was ruptured in two places, prompt attention at hospital saved his life.

He said: “I was a bit too comfortable, which led me to do something I shouldn’t have done, which was get into the crush with the cow.”

These are not isolated incidents, as each year on average five people are killed in accidents involving cattle.

Cow news

Both via @AmbushPredator.

From The Daily Mail:

A growing wellness trend out of the Netherlands has people cuddling cows for comfort.

Called 'koe knuffelen' in Dutch — which translates to 'hugging cow' — the practice typically involves visiting a farm and spending several hours in the company of cows. According to proponents of the trend, cow cuddling can be quite soothing thanks to the animal's warm temperature and size, and the oxytocin boost it leads to can even reduce stress.

Presumably you have to sign a lenghty disclaimer saying that the farm owner assumes no responsibility or liability if customers get kicked or trampled to death.

Also from The Daily Mail:

A teenager from Northern Ireland has died after the car he was driving collided with a cow. Josh Fletcher died in the early hours of Sunday morning after his car left the road when he collided with the animal...

Police have not confirmed the fate of the cow that was hit but is thought to have been killed as well.

"Police call for witnesses regarding second walker killed by cows"

Spotted by James Higham, Julia M and Tim Almond in The Guardian:

A second fatality caused by cows has been made public by police, meaning there have been two such deaths within a fortnight in the north of England. Malcolm Flynn, 72, from Carlisle, died after being charged by cows, police said on Friday.

Police asked for witnesses after Flynn was fatally injured in what they said was a tragic incident while he was walking on land near Thirlwall Castle and Gisland, Northumberland, at around 11.45am on Friday 11 September. Police said he died at the location, which is on the Pennine Way.

No mention of dogs in that article, or in the BBC's version.

"Richmond School teacher Dave Clark killed by cows"

Spotted by James Higham and Julia M at the BBC:

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said the force had been called to a report of a man in his 50s being injured by cows in a field north of Richmond.

He was treated by paramedics, but sadly he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Very sparse on detail. There's no mention of a dog or young calves, but that doesn't mean they weren't there, and we aren't told how many cows* were seen attacking him, or indeed why he was in the field.

* Please, no jokes involving 'five'.

Update - AK Haart in the comments points out that he was walking his dogs. Thought so.

"Couple injured after being attacked by cow in the Yorkshire Dales"

Via @AmbushPredator, from The Yorkshire* Post:

The man and woman, aged in their 50s, were walking near Starbotton in Upper Wharfedale when the incident happened at 3pm on Wednesday. The Yorkshire Air Ambulance landed but was not needed and the couple were taken to hospital by road ambulance with cuts and bruises...

In May, an 82-year-old man from Lancashire was killed by cows when he and his wife, 78, were attacked by the herd while they were walking their dogs near Ribblehead Viaduct in the Dales. The woman was not seriously injured. The cattle had calves with them.

On July 19, a couple were 'trampled' by cows while walking through a field near Huggate in the Yorkshire Wolds. One had to be airlifted to hospital.

* Southerners please note, it is not pronounced York-sheer or York-shire, it is pronounced York-shuh, the emphasis in on the first syllable.

"Runaway cow causes moo-hem"

From Birmingham Live:

A free-spirited cow brought trains on the busy Birmingham line to a sh-udder-ing [halt] during Friday morning's rush hour when it was spotted wandering along the tracks.

"Moo-hem" is one of the most appalling cow-related word plays I have seen for a long time. There's no shame in sticking to the safe ones like "moo-ve over".

I would have given them a bonus point for "sh-udder-ing halt", but they omitted the word "halt" from the opening paragraph.

"Drivers in Yellowstone Get Caught in Middle of Bison Stampede"

Hat tip - Brian, follower of Deornoth, who spotted this at Twisted Sifter.

Cows-vs-cyclist

Brian, follower of Deornoth linked to this in the comments.

Highly recommended viewing.

If you scroll down a bit there's a great deer-vs-cyclist clip in the comments, although that looks accidental rather than malicious.

Give that boy a medal! Oh... they did.

Emailed in by Tim W, from The Times:

Henry ‘Bud’ Flintoff, GC, obituary

Labourer whose bravery in rescuing a farmer from a raging bull as a schoolboy won him the highest civilian award for gallantry.

Henry Flintoff, known since boyhood as “Bud”, was a lad of 13 when he was faced by a situation that only swift and courageous action could resolve. In June 1944 he was a schoolboy working on a farm near his home in Yorkshire, a wartime practice for which many youngsters volunteered, when he heard a cry for help from the next field. He ran to the scene to find the farmer being attacked by a fully grown bull.

While being driven into the field the bull had turned on the farmer and charged, knocking him to the ground. The beast was kneeling on the farmer’s chest when Bud reached him. Although the farmer’s stick lay close by, Flintoff realised that it would be worse than [rest behind paywall]

Cow news

Emailed in by James Higham, from the BBC:

A man has died after being attacked by a herd of cows while walking in the Yorkshire Dales, police have said.

The man, 82, from Foulridge, Pendle, was out walking with his wife at Ivescar, Ingleton on Saturday at around 13:45 BST.

North Yorkshire Police said emergency services were called but the man died at the scene. His wife, aged 78, was badly bruised and taken by air ambulance to Lancaster Royal Infirmary.

Via @AmbushPredator, SkyNews covered the story, concluding with this:

The Health and Safety Executive says, based on the number of accidents every year, cows are the most dangerous animals in the UK with mainly farm workers and walkers falling victim.

Mainly "walkers with dogs during calving season", if you really want to know.

"Berserk herd of cattle trampled a woman, 87, to death while she was ..."

You guessed it, from The Daily Mail, "... walking her dog".

I'd also assume that from an evolutionary point of view, the cows' behaviour was entirely rational, shaped as it is by millions of years of wolves snatching their calves.

Shocked I tell you, shocked!

From The Daily Mail:

Bull-runner, 26, gets gored in the leg twice before being flipped into the air and dragged along the street in front of shocked onlookers

How do they work that out? It's like saying people were 'shocked' to see a man knocked unconscious at a boxing match, or a crash in a stock car race.

"Woman fighting for her life and dog killed after cows trample on them"

From The Mirror, via @ambushpredator:

Woman fighting for her life and dog killed after cows trample on then

They really ought to put warnings on tins of dog food, include this in a leaflet when you buy a puppy and every dog training manual and explain it again in the ad breaks during broadcasts of Crufts.

"Cows pay early-morning visit to startled Ribble Valley families"

From The Lancashire Telegraph:

COWS were seen grazing in people’s gardens in the Ribble Valley over the weekend.

Witness Richard Bowie appears to be the world's most sensible man:

“Also as they were by my car I did not want to startle them and damage my car. I then found it hilarious as, when I looked out of the upstairs window, they were in everyone’s garden. We fed the baby and went back to sleep.”

Cattle news - sign the petition

Via @AmbushPredator, from The Daily Mail:

For decades, a farming family’s herd of long-horned highland cattle have been a Peak District tourist attraction. The ‘gentle’ beasts had roamed Baslow Edge in Derbyshire since being introduced by the family and were admired by photographers and ramblers alike.

But now farmer Alex Birch has been forced to sell or slaughter the herd of 27 after a dog owner complained he felt threatened by one of the animals. The 32-year-old said the dog owner made a complaint to the Health and Safety Executive after a cow ‘pinned him against a wall’.

He said: "They claimed the cow went for his dog and the dog went to the human who protected the dog. The cow never hurt anyone but just approached the man. Anyone who knows about these cattle will know that, if you get in that close, it’s going to hurt you."

Dog walkers are asking for trouble near cattle, doesn't everybody know that? Maybe they should start printing reminders on dog food packaging.

I also feel threatened by cattle, which is why I give them a wide berth, it never occurred to me to contact Health & Safety.

Here's a link to the petition, now up to 20,000 signatures - please add yours!