But most are due to failing to understand cattle. One golden rule is that if have have a dog with you, cattle may attack. Let the dog go, it will survive, then make your own way out of the field. If you hold on to it you may not survive - a most common cause of cattle death is holding on to the dog.
Cows with calves will be challenging but field cattle hate sudden movements and noise. Most British cattle are easily spooked - stamp the ground hard and wave any poles or sticks you may have and they will generally run for it. I have had bulls run away and hide - my daughter couldnāt believe it.
The only cattle you can not scare is a rampant bull after an in season cow. Having been with about 8 others hanging on to a rampant Aberdeen Angus in pursuit of a Friesian cow, even with a firm link to the nose ring, that is a hard job.
There are of course rules about bulls in England and Wales http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ais17ew.pdf and I have made several effective complaints and in one case I am afraid the bull ended up as meat.
Of course my comments are UK specific and I would not make any recommendations elsewhere.
Jim
Hi Jim,
Having had some passing association with dairy cattle and the odd bull or two when I was young way back in last century I found the pamphlet fascinating. There are two major differences here in Aus. Firstly all dairy cattle are behind fences and associated bulls normally have the added measure of an electric fence. Works against trespassers as well as the animals. Secondly there arenāt the right of way rules here. More on the basis of trespassers shot then prosecuted.
Beef cattle are sometimes encountered in alpine areas where some farmers have screwed grazing rights out of the government. Provided Iāve looked where Iāve stepped, never had a problem but the one Andrew had is something that could happen regularly on some peaks. Cattle are curious and prepared to try something new to see if it is good to eat or to use to scratch their back.
Donāt get close to the front or rear end of a cow. They can gore you and their kick is worse than that of a mule. Yelling, waving and a smack on the rump with a long stick as a last resort will move them. Itās better to move the mother than the calf if both together, the calf will follow and mother wonāt feel she has to deal with you to protect the calf which she might if you chase the calf. Of course cattle donāt always behave rationally so donāt assume this approach will work every time.
Dogs and stock in public areas can be bad news.
Cattle: just another experience in the outdoors.
Can I use the ācow ate my logbook/antenna/feedlineā excuse for not uploading my log or completing an activation?
Rather off topic but if you can get hold of the tail of a cow and lift it away from its rump, the cow becomes unable to kick or indeed do very much at all. In my youth, I would regularly milk a cow by hand, morning and afternoon in the byre. If they were stroppy, Iād grab the tail and force it away from the rump. That made them completely docile.
Jim
While hiking JA/HG-252, Takatoryama, we came across this sign.
Apparently these animals are like wild boars and will charge at you. We saw a few signs of their activity according to our JA companion. It seems that they canāt change direction very quickly so if being charged you step to the side.Uploadingā¦
The full details of what happened to Fred are on the NASOTA Yahoo group. The recommendation is that all activators should be aware of the potential hazards of receiving a snake bite.
I feel that in the UK we are somewhat casual in our attitude to snakes as we only have one poisonous variety, the adder. In over 500 summits and 11+ years of SOTA I have only come across one adder. I almost trod on one when Paul G4MD and I were traversing between summits on the island of Islay. I ask myself what action we would have taken had I been bitten. It looks like being a good time to check this out and have a strategy in place, bearing in mind that there are many places that I go that have no mobile phone coverage.
My best wishes go to Fred for a full and rapid recovery.
Nice activation report and pictures. I didnāt realize they had copperheads in Australia as well. We have a lot of rattlesnakes here in the mid-atlantic and they love to hang out in the rocky summits here. Always exciting to be calling CQ SOTA and wondering if something is going to slither across your lap.