| Re: Phobia of cows
Hi
I'm a river angler and in the past few years my caution about cattle has become quite serious and problematic. I grew up around farms and cattle and used to be pretty casual about them too. Some of the places I fish always have cattle of different kinds - dairy herds, bullocks. And bulls.
One day last summer I decided to walk a few fields downstream which involved climbing over a gate which is usually open between the first and second field. These fields usually have dairy cattle, quite often with calves. When I got to the gate I encountered about six heifers and a very large bull. This shocked me as I had fished there frequently and never encountered a bull before; it was lucky they were close to the gate otherwise I could have been half a mile into the field carrying a huge backpack before I encountered them. I don't think there's a statutory requirement for a sign unless it's a right of way - which it isn't, just angling club access.
The heifers all went nuts when they saw me, emitting a fine selection of bodily fluids and solids - behaviour that I haven't seen before. The bull just turned broadside to me and looked entirely disinterested. That evening I did an internet search using the name "Temple Grandin" - an American woman who is widely accepted as the world's leading authority on cattle behaviour and who has revolutionised stock handling techniques in the US cattle business. I found some fascinating, and not at all reassuring stuff.
1) There's no such thing as a "safe" bull.
2) Any bull that shows ANY aggression toward humans in an open environment should be culled immediately.
3) Bulls that are hand-raised and "tame" are vastly more likely to atack humans than those raised amongst other cattle.
4) A bull that turns sideways is actually exhibiting a preliminary form of aggression: it's demonstrating how big it is to you (or other animals).
Interesting material - there's some good stuff about the way in which cattle respond differently to people in different parts of their field of vision. And cows can kick forwards too, which I didn't know. Sorry I don't have the links right now, but a diligent search should locate the sites.
I saw some comments above from a cattle farmer to whom I'd like to address a question. I've always assumed bullocks to be completely safe (if very daft) but in recent years a local herd has become much more persistent than previous herds - almost impossible to shake off as they seem to expct to be fed by any human who appears on the scene. They have followed me for miles on ocasion - which is disconcerting if not actually alarming. However, now having to bear the additional burden of a heart condition I need to feel sure that they represent NO risk. I'd appreciate an informed opinon as I couldn't find anything specific in the sites mentioned previously.
Getting old is awful - it's just that the alternative is worse!
Roy  |