Victims of cow attacks warn walkers of dangers

VICTIMS of cow attacks have warned walkers of the dangers of cattle kept in fields with their calves.

Jacqui Beale, 48, suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung, and was left needing stitches to her face after she was set upon by the beasts while walking her dog.

The dog groomer told how she was left in fear for her life when the animals went for her in May this year as she came across them with their young.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The dog was on a lead, but they weren’t going for the dog, they came for me and knocked me over,” she said.

“I was bashed about by about eight cows. I remember being tossed from one to another and thinking I wasn’t going to survive.

“All I could hear was snorting and breathing, it was terrifying.”

Ms Beale, from Wirksworth in Derbyshire, managed to get herself to safety, but warned others who may be unprepared for attacks.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “If I had had a child with me or had been an old person who couldn’t get out of the field, it would have been even worse. You wouldn’t expect it, but cows move really fast.

“This has left me really scared. I respect animals and have always kept my dog on a lead, but that wasn’t enough.

“I live in the countryside surrounded by lovely fields, but I’m too scared to go near them now.

“There are lots of popular walks near me, but if you do them you risk being mauled.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Grandfather-of-five Mike Pace is still in the process of having his leg reconstructed after he was attacked by cows in August last year.

The 55-year-old said he thought he was going to die when he was trampled while walking along a public footpath with his wife, Gill, during a camping holiday in Abersoch in Gwynedd, Wales.

“There were around 30 cows behind us and Gill then noticed they had calves,” said the father-of-four, from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

“As we started to walk the other way, this black bullock that had been staring looking menacing charged me and threw me up in the air and then the other cattle just started trampling me.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The black bullock started lifting its back legs off the ground and trampling me.

“While on the floor I had a conversation with myself thinking I was going to die. I told myself I’d had a good life.”

Mrs Pace escaped unharmed, but her husband, who works as a manager at BMW, spent more than a month in hospital and still needs crutches to walk.

He and Ms Beale are both taking legal action and Sally Gray, a personal injury specialist at Slater and Gordon, is representing a number of people who have been injured by cattle.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “Cows grazing in a field seem like the image of tranquillity, hence why people assume there’s no threat.

“Indeed, they are very docile animals, often unbothered by people walking in their fields. However, when they have calves it’s a different story.

“Around this time of year we get lots of cases relating to injuries caused by cows - some very nasty and potentially fatal.

“Recent data shows that cows are the most dangerous large animals in the UK and, when it comes to public liability and the risk owed to the public, farmers have been advised not to put calves and their mothers in fields that are open to the public together.

“Owners of animals that have the potential to cause serious injury need to make sure they’re kept in suitable areas.”

Related topics: