Farmer fined after dog walker thrown 8ft into the air and trampled by cow
A dog walker was thrown 8ft into the air by a cow which then repeatedly trampled on him as he tried to crawl away, breaking six ribs of his ribs and leaving him with damage to his lungs and spleen.
Steve Adams, from Coleshill, Warwickshire, was on holiday with his wife near Sidbury, East Devon when they went for a walk with their springer spaniel.
They were walking along a public footpath, through a field containing cows with calves, when one of the cows attacked, leaving Steve with injuries that still prevent him from leading an active life.
He spent seven days in intensive care after the incident.
According to guidelines issued by the Health & Safety Council (HSE), farmers should not put cattle with young calves in fields with a public right of way.
The farmer responsible for the cattle has been ordered to pay a fine and costs totalling more than £3,500.
Adams, a 63-year-old father-of-three who also has two grandchildren, said: “My own grandfather was a farmer, so I’d been around cattle as a child and I wasn’t scared of them. Now I wouldn’t go into a field with cows, you don’t know what’s going to happen."
The Adams' were on holiday at an east Devon campsite in July 2021 when they decided to go for a walk with their dog Lisa, who was on a lead.
Their route took them from a pub through fields. As they headed towards a pedestrian gate at the edge of one of the fields, they came to an electric fence surrounding the field's edge.
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They were then surrounded by more than 20 cattle, some with calves. The couple said a cow approached, lowered its head and tossed Adams into the air. It then trampled him on the ground until he managed to crawl away.
An HSE investigation established that cattle with young calves were being kept in a field with a public right of way across it. Cattle with young calves are known to be protective and unpredictable, and can pose a risk to walkers, especially to those with dogs. Farmers should not put cattle with young calves in fields with a public right of way.
Adams said: “The dog was on its lead and I’d managed to let it go and it made it away. My wife had one of those plastic ball throwers for the dog and she was hitting the cow with it but it made no difference at all. I managed to roll away from under it.
“I don’t walk too much now. I’m not as healthy as I was, and I can still feel my injuries now.”
Barry Fowler, of Sidbury, Sidmouth, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £555 and ordered to pay costs of £3,000 after a hearing at Exeter Magistrates’ Court on 8 March.
