Bulls in Fields with Public Footpaths - Bulls in Fields with Public Footpaths

[Clive Taylor]

According to the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 (Section 59) Beef Bulls can be kept in field with public footpaths but not Dairy Bulls. Dexters are not mentioned in the list of Dairy Breeds contained in the Act. But I have been told by other breeders that Dexters are considered a dairy breed for these purposes!

Here the section I found on the web...

Section 59. Prohibition on keeping bulls on land crossed by public rights of way.

(1) If, in a case not falling within subsection (2), the occupier of a field or enclosure crossed by a right of way to which this Part applies permits a bull to be at large in the field or enclosure, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to any bull which (a) does not exceed the age of ten months; or (b) is not of a recognised dairy breed and is at large in any field or enclosure in which cows or heifers are also at large.

(3) Nothing in any bylaws, whenever made, shall make unlawful any act which is, or but for subsection (2) would be, made unlawful by subsection (1).

(4) In this section 'recognised dairy breed' means one of the following breeds, namely, Ayrshire, British Friesian, British Holstein, Dairy Shorthorn, Guernsey, Jersey and Kerry.

(5) The Secretary of State may by order add any breed to, or remove any breed from, subsection (4); and an order under this subsection shall be made by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Can anyone elaborate or comment?

[Duncan MacIntyre]

I am not a law expert and in any case Scottish law is different from English (is there Welsh law? If not are the Welsh lawless? Just asking!! ), but I am a bit concerned that the public is being led to beleive it has free access to more and more land where farming is going on - with cattle I am more concerned about cows with young calves at foot where a dog is introduced, be it on or off the lead - if the cattle decide to deal with the dog, it may well go to the owner for shelter, result one battered owner while the dog escapes unscathed. We have seen this happen on Bute a couple of times, people just seem totally ignorant of the dangers or taking dogs amongst cattle. Nothing to do with the letter of the law just the way things are.

Duncan

[Jo Kemp]

Like Duncan, I am concerned about the public and cows with calves. 5 years ago, a chap decided to photograph a newly born calf and was killed by the cow. People need to know about animals before jumping into a field with them! More people have been attacked since then, some fatally.
I don't know about the status of a Dexter bull but I wouldn't want my bull where the public could hit him, throw things at him or generally taunt him so I'd keep him in a different field if poss.
Jo

[Duncan MacIntyre]

We had an incident a few years ago involving an 18 month bull and 18 month heifer in a rented field. I heard on the local grapevine that the local Scout camp was to be in the field, but the owner being a townie did not seem to realise that if he had rented the field to me he could not then give it to a Scout Camp without letting me know. As the time approached not contact had been made. I watched till they began to put stuff in the field, and advised them that they should have consulted me, but they knew there were cattle there and were not concerned. I took down a roll of Rylock and some stabs and suggested they fence off the area if they really wanted to use the field, pointing out that if they had been decent Scouters they would have been in touch long before and the cattle could have been removed. I went back a few hours later to find no fence erected, again urged them to get the fence up. At that point I had to have words with them as the boys had been throwing stones and sticks at the beasts as they wanted to play games and the beasts were interfering. Finally the leaders erected a fence round the tents the boys were sleeping in, and left out the quartermasters store tent. In the morning it was shredded - all my cattle then were horned. I mean SHREDDED!! I did not have much sympathy.

Duncan Dib Dib Dib, be prepared and all that.

I know this does not have much relevance to the original post, apologies for that, I still find the story amusing but I know it could easily have been a much worse disaster.

[Jo Kemp]

I attended The Game Conservancy Fair at Scone this year and went to a talk re public access and the law. I raised this very question and so far 'the law has not yet been tested' Nothing is clear in the paperwork so who was liable in Duncan's case? I would say the scouters as they ignored his advice but they do say 'the law's an ass'.
What is 'responsible use of the land'? I pointed out that I might not realise a feature could be dangerous - animals could be mild and kind with those it knows and aggressive with others; the people using the land could be 'country wise or B----stupid; these days everything is made safe for people and the countryside cannot be tamed like that so the public is not prepared for the dangers...... We also live in an age of suing so notices everywhere I suppose.
Jo

[Inger]

We're starting to go down that 'public access' route too. This government seems determined to let townies wander along water-ways, with little regard for the day-to-day running of an average farm. It's caused a huge uproar over here in NZ. They're putting off the final decision until after the election, later this year, (sound familiar?).

We in the rural sector are hoping for a change in government, so that this 'Right to Wander' bill gets thrown out.

Locals can already gain access to fishing spots, just by asking the owner. We feel things should be left as they are. I'd hate to see NZ affected by the same laws that you in the UK are having to deal with. Wouldn't it be nice if governments were a little less intrusive in our daily lives? ???