Woman trampled to death by cows

[Liberal_in_LA]

I didn't know cows had it in them to attack! They seem so benign

Dog walker trampled to death by cows

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A woman was trampled to death by cows while walking her dogs in northern England, police said Monday.

The 49-year-old died at the scene, said a press officer for North Yorkshire police, where the incident took place on Sunday just after noon local time (7 a.m. ET).

"She had two dogs with her," said the spokeswoman, who declined to be named in line with police policy. They were not on a leash, she added.

"We believe the cows may have gotten protective of their calves," she said.

The woman was alone when she was killed in Gayle, near Hawes in Wensleydale, she said.

Police and the National Farmers' Union both said it was very unusual for people to be killed by cows in Britain.

"There are perhaps a few incidents every year where people are injured by cattle," said Mike Thomas, a spokesman for the union. "People being killed by cattle is quite a rare occurrence."

But he said cows could become aggressive if they felt their calves were being threatened.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/06/22/uk.cows.trampling/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

[Are_grits_groceries]

1. Oh, they really can get a mad on.

I ran with a cousin for dear life from a cow who was upset for some reason. Went over an electric fence and all to get away. Don't know what set her off, but I've been wary of cows ever since.
:scared:

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. I can't even picture an angry cow. They always turn their head, stare, but keep chewing

[Are_grits_groceries]

7. I wasn't too worried then either.

I knew about pigs and bulls. However, that cow surprised the shit out of me.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. turkeys attack also! For no reason!

[Mojorabbit]

15. I have a friend that is terrified of them for that reason

My technique is to sing at the top of my lungs. It distracts them. I am serious. We have been in pastures together when cows started charging us and it works every time, at least it has so far....

[Baclava]

14. Moo?

[sufrommich]

2. I smell a Hitchcock plot in the making. "The Cows" nt

[mainegreen]

4. Cows are evil. I've known that since I was a child, and babysat at the farm.

I love all the animals.

Except the cows.

Because they are evil.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. cows = pitbull of the farm?

[mainegreen]

11. No. Cows are much more clever. They plot. They scheme.

And only when the time is right, do they attack.

Pitbulls do not plot.

[mikelgb]

5. they told her to moooove at least a hundred times...

[scheming daemons]

6. Eat Chikken

[jazzjunkysue]

10. Landshark!

Ok. It's not funny. Much.

One for the cows.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

12. I guess it's true

Red meat will kill you.

[lindisfarne]

13. My grandfather had one who was aggressive. He shipped it to slaughter. You don't breed those ones

if you're smart. By the time I was a kid, they had just about a dozen cows, mainly to keep the pastures down and killed 1-2 a year for meat.

I never saw much aggression (bulls an exception) but with any animal, you treat them with respect.

I find cows very peaceful. I think it's horrible what happens to them on factory farms, and even some small farms (did you know, there are still farmer who dock their tails? Causes a great deal of pain throughout their lives, and they can't swat off flies. If they weren't kept in muck, their tails wouldn't get full of manure. It's that simple.)

[Ganja Ninja]

16. Probably her dogs chased the cows right over her.

A couple of dogs can get a herd running no problem.

[Xithras]

17. As the article says, they can get protective of their calves just like any animal.

I owned two Guernsey's for a while, but had to sell them to a neighbor because I didn't have time to milk them regularly. Most of the time they are EXTREMELY docile, but they can get standoffish when they have a new calf, and there is no mistaking a pissed off cow. When one gets angry, you just back away and let them calm down.

My guess is that the cattle were angry at the dogs, and not the walker though. From the perspective of a cow, there is no difference between a dog and a wolf, and only familiarity created by extended proximity will get them to calm down around them. My first cow literally RAN from my dogs whenever they entered the pasture, but she became so used to them that she totally ignored them after a month or so (a truly content cow will demonstrate its contentedness by completely ignoring you when you're around...from its perspective, you're just another member of the herd).

Cattle are smart enough to know the difference between "their" dogs and "other" dogs. These cattle probably saw these two dogs running loose around their calves, judged them to be a threat, and defended themselves the only way that cattle can...by stampeding and charging the attackers. The poor woman, likely trying to protect her dogs (the threat would have been VERY obvious VERY quickly), just got in the way.