Anyone looking for examples of good efficient land management should probably avoid Blacka. For 2 years or so FoBM have been asking for the 'temporary' hurdles to be moved from their prominent position in the pasture land visible for miles around. SWT and their farmer ally finally got round to moving them to a less conspicuous place yesterday afternoon. Somehow in the process the fence got broken. We had warned that it was in a poor state and a breakout was imminent. Looking at the scene this morning it's likely that the following happened, conjecture but possible:1 The livestock gathered in numbers around the fence as the men were trying to assemble the structure. Pressure caused a collapse.
2 Cows excitedly set off on a tour of the hillside on the other side.
3 The fence was pulled back to make a gap wide enough for them to get back on their own.
4 One of the cows had previously calved (I thought all those 'in the club' had been taken off?)
5 Somehow the calf was gathered up and put in the new enclosure so it couldn't get out - in the hope that the mother would be drawn back bringing the other cows back with it.
6 The men went off for the night and returned first thing this morning.
7 This morning the calf was on its own, the sheep were scattered each side of the fence and the cows were somewhere on the moor. Their footprints showed they had covered a lot of ground on several paths.
On the subject of the dead ram referred to in a previous post, apparently the farmer told SWT that it was the fault of dogs! This is pure nonsense and not the first example of denial and trying to avoid responsibility by pointing elsewhere.
I've come across this before when results of poor animal welfare and practice has been blamed on dogs. It's credible of course. Some dogs certainly worry sheep. But the scenario is often rather different. A sheep may die from causes arising from neglect. Dead animal meat gives off smells that are a powerful magnet to dogs who are natural scavengers. Someone seeing a dog standing over a dead animal may jump to conclusions. I've no doubt that some farmers have shot dogs in just those circumstances.
2 comments:
Paragliding there on 13th Strawberry lee-Pastures and some one is blaming us for the Cattle getting exciterd? There was no problems all the time i was there but. The promise was that the Higland cows would be passive and no danger to the publick. Liz Crowsley Killed by cattle on the pennine way would not agree.
It is always very sad when someone is killed or injured by an animal. We must always remember that an animal is just that, it has no appreciation of right or wrong and only acts in the interest of itself, usually self-protection. Any unusual activity will scare wildlife and domesticated animals; paragliding most certainly will. Is paragliding really what we want to see happening at Blackamoor?
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