Run away or stand still? Make yourself look big or make yourself look small? I asked a dairy farmer how to react when a walk in the country turns nasty
Many has been the time I’ve dragged my daughter out for a walk, and everything is ticking along nicely until the footpath takes us through a field of cows. She says she’s scared; I say she’s being silly. She breaks into a run; I don’t. And the cows don’t take a blind bit of notice.
I thought all cattle encounters were a bit like this, but it turns out that sometimes, very rarely, things do get ugly and someone gets seriously hurt or even killed. I did a story about this last week on my radio show, though I really didn’t want to frighten people when the chances of harm are surely greater on your journey into the countryside than during any walking you might do when you get there.
