Recently a pensioner, near Greenlaw in the Scottish Borders, has sadly died after being trampled by a herd of cows.
The man was walking his dog across some farmland. It is thought that the cows were protecting their calves and suddenly turned on the man and his dog. A caretaker saw the incident and drove onto the farmland to separate the cows from the man and managed to pull the man to safety. He was taken to hospital but passed away.
This is not the first incident of this kind.
A couple of weeks ago, a man in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, was also walking his dog in a field containing cows and calves, when he was trampled by the cows, who again were thought to be protecting their calves. Chris Wisson, the owner of the cattle in St Neots, stated that "It's something that you don't want to happen, but animals follow their natural instincts in protecting their young."
Two women in their 70s were also seriously injured after being trampled by cows in Foolkburgh, Cumbria earlier this year. One of the women was airlifted to hospital with serious chest injuries and the other woman was airlifted to hospital with serious head injuries. Fortunately the two women recovered from their injuries.
Should the general public have been made aware of the dangers of crossing a field full of cattle, and that these timid creatures can attack at anytime if they feel their calves are in danger. More protection and awareness should now be given to the general public to ensure that these incidents do not occur again.
By Kayleigh Massey, personal injury department
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