Cows officially the most deadly large animals in Britain
Farmers continue to be advised not to put calves and their mothers in fields accessible to the public
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An agricultural committee is to keep the public and farm workers safe from cows after they were revealed to be the most dangerous large animals in Britain.
According to figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 74 people have been killed by cows in the past 15 years.
Dogs, meanwhile, have killed 17 people in the last eight years, according to NHS figures obtained by The Daily Telegraph.
The HSE has since re-issued long-standing advice to farmers not to put calves and their mothers in fields accessible to the public as a precaution.
"As 70% of these deaths involved either a bull or newly calved cow, activities with these stock should be carefully planned," it said.
"Where ever possible farmers should avoid keeping cows and calves in fields with public footpaths."
Walkers and farm workers who fall foul of the one-tonne animals are often crushed, butted or trampled to death, the review into cattle-related deaths found.
The majority of victims by far are farm workers, with 56 of the 74 deaths from this group, while mostly lone walkers who had dogs made up the remaining 18 who had been killed.
"Of the 18 members of the public, all were present on public footpaths or commonly used rights of way, all but one were accompanied by a dog and with exception of one man who had wandered away from a family group, all were lone walkers or accompanied by one other person."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments