The cows are at it again

You may remember a story I wrote back in January about cows attacking people in Colorado (if you don't you can click here to read it). In that story the lady was just injured by a cow that was protecting her calf. Now the cows in Britain are not only attacking, they're killing.

Four people have been trampled to death in the last two months while walking their dogs near grazing cattle in Britain's main farming area. In the last eight years, 18 people have been killed by cows or bulls in Britain. That's scary.

I know it's not a large number considering that Britain has 7.5 million cows but that's still a lot of people to me. I grew up around many different types of animals and have had first hand experience with cows but I never saw one get aggressive.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) said that "cows can become aggressive and charge, especially when calves are present and walkers are accompanied by dogs." Aren't dogs used to help herd cattle? I believe they are. I've even had a COW DOG in the past. Why would the cows suddenly become enraged by dogs? Maybe they're tired of having dogs nipping at their hooves and running circles around them. I don't know.

I do know that would be a horrible way to die; under the feet of a very large animal. My heart goes out to the people that lost their loved ones.

I also wonder if Britain has dog parks like we do here in America. I would think that would be a better place to walk your dog then in a field full of cows. I know I wouldn't be in that field.

It brings new meaning to Mad Cow

You’re casually riding your bike through a beautiful park in Colorado. You’re following the trail enjoying the scenery… Uh oh look out! There’s a killer cow!

It sounds crazy but it’s a true story. A lady was riding her bike through Boulder Open Space and Mountain Park when a cow crossed her path. She stopped, allowing the cow room to cross in front of her. The cow had other ideas. He knocked her off her bike and then stepped on her legs.

A park ranger found the woman injured on the path. She told him what had happened. The cow was searched for but had left the area by the time other rangers arrived. A warning to bikers and hikers was issued.

The open space of Marshall Mesa is leased by ranchers that use the land as a grazing area for their livestock. Witnesses that saw the attacking cow say it appeared to have an injured leg. The cows owner was notified.

Jason Vogel, vice president of the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance, was quoted in a Daily Camera’s Boulder & county news story as saying this attack was “odd, rare and random” although there was another cow attack in the same area in 2003. In that attack a woman was rammed three times and her pelvis was fractured by a grazing momma cow that felt threatened by the cyclist that was too close to her calf for comfort (say that fast three times).

I adore cows. Seriously. If you have any doubt just look at my email address. That will show you how much of a cow lover I am. I’ve collected cow ‘things’ for years and have taken more than my share of pictures of them in fields and on farms.

I’ve never had one attack me though. No charging, angry cows tried to knock me over and then step on me. For a brief moment I thought “Well, maybe it was because of the baby…” but no, there have been plenty of calves present when I was around the cows I’ve come in contact with.

The lady in this bike attack just had a stroke of bad luck in my opinion. Call it cowincidence that this was the second cow attack in the area. Just an incidental ocowrence. Ok, ok. I’ll be good. I couldn’t help it. This story just mooved me.