Moor users needed to keep an eye on cattle welfare

Cattle will be returning to the moors in the summer to graze on regenerating scrubland and maintain the heath habitat.

As a result, Sheffield Wildlife Trust is now asking for volunteer "lookerers" to give a few minutes of their time once a week to check the animals are safe and well.

Hannah Wittram, who is community wildlife ranger for the Trust, said: "If you are a regular user of Blacka Moor, with your support we can regularly check the condition of the cattle and respond to problems a lot more quickly.

"Whether you enjoy a morning stroll, walking your dog, riding your horse or cycling your bike, participation is easy.

"You don't need any experience – just fill out a simple checklist and email it back to us to us, or even send a text.

"Cattle are a vital part of conservation management on Blacka Moor and, with your help, we can monitor their whereabouts and keep our hoofed friends happy."

A Trust spokesman said that "lookering" is the art of keeping a lookout for livestock, checking for ailments or a lack of water or food, checking the stockproof boundaries and knowing when to alert the owner.

They added: "We need regular users of the site to help us monitor the health of the cattle and note the condition of the fencing and gates."

The heathland of Blacka Moor has a mosaic of dwarf shrubs such as heather, bilberry and cowberry, birch and rowan copses, scattered trees and grassland.

To conserve the landscape, management through cattle grazing is needed to prevent the encroachment of bracken and birch scrub that would displace the heathland plants.

For further details contact the Sheffield Wildlife Trust on 0114 2634335.