Dog walker injured by cows at Malham Tarn in latest Yorkshire cattle trampling incident

Both paramedics and mountain rescue volunteers from the Cave Rescue Organisation were sent to assist the woman after she and her partner were attacked on Saturday November 14.

They were walking past a herd of suckler cows with calves at Malham Tarn, where cattle are allowed to graze on National Trust land.

She was knocked down and trampled by the animals and taken to hospital, although the extent of her injuries are not known.

The Cave Rescue Organisation urged dog owners to follow Countryside Code advice which recommends they let their pet off the lead if threatened by cattle, as the livestock will chase the dog allowing the person to reach safety.

"The two walkers were walking with their dog and it was to this that several suckler cows had taken exception. The owner, who was concerned for her pet, was injured in the resulting melee.

"The Countryside Code requires dog owners to keep their pets under close control when in enclosures with livestock. However, the practical advice, where cattle take an active interest in it is to ‘DITCH THE DOG’. This is not cruel, just practical. The dog can fend for itself just as well, alone, as it would with you and you are then less at risk."

Several members of the Cave Rescue Organisation's Facebook group reported that they had encountered 'aggressive' cattle on the Tarn this autumn.

Carol Dent said: "I was badly attacked by cows near Malham Tarn a couple of years ago. It was seriously scary! I was on a National Trust footpath with my dogs calmly walking to heel on leads. When the cow attacked, I had to let go of my two dogs and the angry cow, who had by this time wound up the rest of the large herd, fortunately decided to chase the dogs rather than me, with about 100 others in pursuit. We all escaped unscathed, but it has badly affected my dogs and me. I would not go back on that footpath. I wonder if it was the same herd?"

The lockdown summer and increased numbers of visitors to the countryside has coincided with a surge in cattle trampling incidents in Yorkshire, and there have been three fatalities in 2020.

In October, a man in his 50s was killed and his wife seriously injured after they were attacked by cattle while walking in fields at Netherton, near Wakefield. The man has not been named and it is not known if they had dogs with them.

In September, 59-year-old Richmond School deputy headteacher David Clark died when he was attacked by cows while walking his dogs in a field near the town. Mr Clark was a former Scotland Under 21 rugby player and his three children include the Saracens and England player Calum Clark, 31.

In May, an 82-year-old man from Lancashire was killed and his wife, 78, suffered minor injuries when they were walking their dogs near Ribblehead Viaduct in the Dales. The cows had calves with them.