Coroner calls for farm public footpath dog ban when cows are with young calves

Farmers should be able to ban dogs from public footpaths on their land during months when there are cows with young calves grazing, a coroner has said.

Kevin McLoughlin called for action after an inquest into the death of Michael Holmes, who was trampled to death by cattle while on a walk in Netherton, West Yorkshire, on September 29, 2020.

The 57-year-old’s wife, Teresa Holmes, also suffered serious injuries and is in a wheelchair following the incident.

The couple had been walking their daughter’s two whippet dogs, who were both on leads, when they were charged at by a herd of between 25 to 30 cows and their calves.

An inquest at Wakefield Civil & Family Justice Centre previously heard they followed a public footpath up a steep hill but were unaware that the cows were at the top of the slope.

On Wednesday, the inquest jury delivered a conclusion of accidental death and said it was “unclear” why the cows had attacked Mr and Mrs Holmes.

Senior coroner Mr McLoughlin said he would be making a prevention of future deaths report after hearing the “alarming” statistics on cow trampling fatalities.

The inquest heard that an average of six people a year are killed by cattle in the UK, including farm workers and members of the public.

That number rose to 11, including Mr Holmes, between April 2020 and March 2021.

Mr McLoughlin said one solution could be to allow landowners to apply to their local council for the right to temporarily ban dogs on footpaths when cattle are grazing with young calves.

“The idea that some six people die each year in incidents of this nature is truly surprising,” he said.

“It seems there is a correlation between cows with young calves and dogs in such instances.

“The lesson that might be drawn is cows with calves do not mix well with dogs, even on leads.”

Mr McLoughlin said he would not want to see the rights of dog walkers restricted unnecessarily, but that “unacceptably high incidents of cattle trampling fatalities indicate to me a need to identify and tackle the problem”.

Following the inquest, Mrs Holmes said it had been “hard to hear” of previous incidents of cows chasing walkers in the same field, including three in the three months before her husband’s death.

She called for a change in the law to set ‘crystal clear guidelines’ for farmers on the steps they must take to protect the public from harm while using footpaths.

“I’m relieved that this inquest has ended after a two year wait but it has been difficult to hear the evidence over the past three days about the previous incidents in this same field on the same farm,” Mrs Holmes said.

“We didn’t know about the previous problems in the field and now we do, it means this incident could have been prevented and Mick would be with us today. That has been hard to hear.

“All farmers must be responsible for taking steps to warn the public that cows are present and to declare the risk. The coroner has said that more needs to be done. I agree.

“Mick and I had been together for more than 40 years, we have two beautiful daughters together, and he was our world. We were looking forward to retiring together, and spending more time travelling and with our families and friends.“Not only did this rob Mick of his life, but it has also left me with life-changing injuries. Our lives have been turned upside down and it didn’t need to happen.”Jonathan Fogerty, a solicitor from CFG Law who specialises in spinal cord injury cases, added: “The evidence shows that more could, and should, have been done to protect the public.

“This was not an isolated incident. Three other walkers had been attacked, two of them within three months of Mick’s death. This was a wholly avoidable tragedy which has robbed Teresa of her husband and devastated her family.”

The farmer who owned the field, Martin Mitchell, was issued with a prohibition notice by the HSE the day after the incident to ensure that the public and cattle were segregated.