question for farmers or avid ramblers...

out on one of our adventures today me and buster were following those little yellow foot path arrows around some farm land, and we got to a gate with the same little yellow arrow on a style into a field. but on the gate next to it was a nice big sign saying bull in field! I decided we'd give it a miss at that point done a lap of the field we were in because buster was tired any way and headed home.
any way the question i have is, these signs are for public right of way so coming across a sign like this were do I stand, should i avoid it completley or proceed with caution keeping buster on lead?

This doesn't really answer your question but where we walk there are cattle in the fields and I just keep Moo onlead when around them

yeah we do same with buster when we come across cows but wasn't sure with this being a big black and yellow sign warning of bull i didn't know if it would be more dangerous to enter the field.

I would tend to avoid the Bull in the field, you will probably find that there is a public right of way but the farmer doesn't like it so this will be his way of discouraging people , daresay it's pretty effective too

Just looked this up.....

23. Can a farmer keep a bull in a field crossed by a public path?
A bull of up to ten months old, yes. Bulls over ten months of a recognised dairy breed (Ayrshire, British Friesian, British Holstein, Dairy Shorthorn, Guernsey, Jersey and Kerry) are banned from fields crossed by public paths under all circumstances. All other bulls over ten months are banned unless accompanied by cows or heifers. If any bulls act in a way which endangers the public, an offence may be committed under health and safety legislation.

Agree with what you say here Caryll but I don't believe farmers like playing by the rule book

Ger orf moi Laaaaaannd

Dave wrote:Agree with what you say here Caryll but I don't believe farmers like playing by the rule book

Ger orf moi Laaaaaannd

Dave wrote:Agree with what you say here Caryll but I don't believe farmers like playing by the rule book

Ger orf moi Laaaaaannd

It's funny, when we were in Yorkshire there was a field up in the fells that had an Ayrshire bull in it - no way was he under 10 months old, and there were no signs anywhere that said 'beware of the bull'. Having said that my oh (who loves cattle) climbed in to the field & took some pics of said bull who just stood there & posed!

ok thanks guys. so basically by law should be safe but deffinately a case of how much of a risk i'm willing to take personally then. think i'll give it a miss lol!

My grandparents live on a farm where there is a footpath which runs through a few of the fields and I have to say, I'm not surprised the farmer wants to discourage people if that's his plan.

My grandparents have so much trouble with inconsiderate people, from litter being left to gates being left open to livestock being killed by out of control dogs including a countless number of chickens.

People ignore all polite signs asking for dogs to be kept under close control and feel it's their land to do as they please. I've even had someone kick off at me and ask me to leave because I was exercising my (under control) dogs in one of the fields so apparently that meant she couldn't come into the field because her two little ankle biters didn't like other dogs; I was at the other end of the field!!

A big problem with the chickens is, being chickens they like to be under cover so can often be found scratting around under the hedges, unseen by walkers who think the field is empty so decide to let their dog(s) off (if they were on lead to start with). By the time the owner's spotted the chickens, it's too late because their dog has already and is rapidly approaching to catch and kill.

If people were more considerate and dog walkers kept their dogs on leads or under close control (with a very good chase recall!) then many farmers and landowners wouldn't feel the need to try and put people off.

Apologies for the rant! It just gets to me this one!

totally understand where your coming from and i can see why land owners with public right of way going through their land would get annoyed by this type of behaviour. and i totally understand it's their livelyhood at the end of the day so i do try and respect the areas i walk in and always close gates etc. and because of buster being buster he rarely gets off the lead as it is so not often much chance of him running riot.

I always keep Dempsey away from cattle. It isn't the cattle's safety I'm worried about, it's Dempey's. Cows are far worse that bulls when it comes to attacking dogs!

Hmm, even if the bull was at the other end of the field, I wouldn't be going in.
I got "herded" by cows when I was young and that put me off for life.

That's what I mean - cows are worse than bulls!

If I saw that sign I would proceed with caution keeping my dog on the lead.

Cows are worse than bulls! I was chased by a few cows when I was a kid, thankfully I made it over the fence in time but it scared the cr*p out of me! Never been chased by a bull though.

Hi Working dog and Galadriel.

Just to allay your fear/apprehensions re cows.

I was raised on the farm and it is highly unlikely that the cows were either herding you or chasing you. Cattle are naturally curious and will approach you if you are in their field. If you move away or run they will follow which can be mistaken for chasing but if you stand your ground or move towards them they will invariably, being a prey animal, move off.

I would however be very wary of entering a field of cattle with a dog as cows have a very strong protective instinct if they have calves and may well see the dog as a threat and attack you both.

reuben wrote:
Hi Working dog and Galadriel.

Just to allay your fear/apprehensions re cows.

I was raised on the farm and it is highly unlikely that the cows were either herding you or chasing you. Cattle are naturally curious and will approach you if you are in their field. If you move away or run they will follow which can be mistaken for chasing but if you stand your ground or move towards them they will invariably, being a prey animal, move off.

I would however be very wary of entering a field of cattle with a dog as cows have a very strong protective instinct if they have calves and may well see the dog as a threat and attack you both.

Hi Reuben,

I too grew up on a farm.

Cows generally are docile but do have a strong protective instinct as you say and it was that protective instinct that caused them to chase me as a youngster as I got too close to one of the calves.

There are many more reports of livestock being injured/killed by dogs but cattle especially can and do injure and kill people and dogs too.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jun/28/attacks-by-cattle-ramblers-blunkett?cat=uk&type=article

Galadriel wrote:

reuben wrote:
Hi Working dog and Galadriel.

Just to allay your fear/apprehensions re cows.

I was raised on the farm and it is highly unlikely that the cows were either herding you or chasing you. Cattle are naturally curious and will approach you if you are in their field. If you move away or run they will follow which can be mistaken for chasing but if you stand your ground or move towards them they will invariably, being a prey animal, move off.

I would however be very wary of entering a field of cattle with a dog as cows have a very strong protective instinct if they have calves and may well see the dog as a threat and attack you both.

Hi Reuben,

I too grew up on a farm.

Cows generally are docile but do have a strong protective instinct as you say and it was that protective instinct that caused them to chase me as a youngster as I got too close to one of the calves.

There are many more reports of livestock being injured/killed by dogs but cattle especially can and do injure and kill people and dogs too.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jun/28/attacks-by-cattle-ramblers-blunkett?cat=uk&type=article

Totally agree and would always advise people to err on the safe side, especially when they have a dog as this can increase the risk.
Us hayseeds are possibly better able to read the body language.

I agree with the two hay slingers cows are more curiouse than agressive. I think its there size that scares people. Im a country boy too so grew up around livestock and dogs. Alot of cows get used to people and dogs on leads and are not to botherd by them. Peresonaly i wouldnt take a dog through a field with calfs in though as has been said a mothers maternal instinct to protect her young will overide her prey fear. I wouldnt fear a bull any more than a cows tbh.
Always remember though that even though you have a right of way the farmer has a right to earn a living (and its a bloody tough one) respect his land and animals, lead up in fields with livestock and close the gates. A farmers care a great deal about there livestock so wont use it to intimidate.

I agree with what everyone else is saying, I own a largeish farm in Lincolnshire and although we allow public to walk through our farm (in certain areas) the general public can be a pain!!
As said before, dogs can and do kill livestock and in doing so our livelihood... And theres no chance of gettig compensation off the owner! Could go on a massive rant about this lol but won't! We've now just shut down some of the footpaths and have CCTV and security to try and deter people (ie pot heads) and dogs from going near livestock etc. And ts not even the livestock, it's the arable fields too, we've a diagonal path cutting through the middle of a lot of our fields yet dogs (and people) still feel the need to run straight THROUHGH the crops! Grrrrr lol! So yes it's probably farmers tryig to deter people from using that path, blame all the inconsiderate dog walkers and teenagers...
Xxx

axam102 wrote:
Always remember though that even though you have a right of way the farmer has a right to earn a living (and its a bloody tough one) respect his land and animals, lead up in fields with livestock and close the gates. A farmers care a great deal about there livestock so wont use it to intimidate.