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23/04/2008
'Mad Cow' Alert Issued
A warning has been issued to rural communities to be wary of cattle.
The alert came from a coroner who highlighted the dangers of attack posed by cows which have calved.
This followed an incident in which a man from Tyrone died as a result of crush injuries to the chest and abdomen sustained in one such attack.
The inquest into the death of retired farmer Peter Fox, 76, from Creggan Road, Carrickmore, heard that on May 4, 2007, he had gone to check a cow on his land but had failed to return to his house.
His sister-in-law, Mary Fox, went in search of him and found him "slumped in the corner of the paddock" and went to his aid.
As a result, she was then also attacked by the mad cow: "The cow head-butted me on the lower left side knocking me into a ditch," she said.
"Peter and I were able to walk over to the left hand side of the paddock," she said.
Her nephew arrived and phoned for the ambulance and tended to the injured man.
"Peter stopped breathing while sitting on the sofa," she said.
They took instructions from the ambulance personnel on the phone, but were unable to revive him.
She said prior to the attack Mr Fox had been farming during the day and was in good health.
Malcolm Downey, inspector from NI Health and Safety Executive, told the hearing that it was likely the cow attacked Mr Fox as it was trying to protect its calf.
He said changes in hormone levels after calving can lead to protective behaviour.
The cow had returned to a docile state when it was returned to the farm the following day, he said.
"There is always potential before or after calving for some cows to become more protective than others, particularly beef suckler cows rather than dairy," he said.
The official warned of under-reporting of these types of incidents: "Many farmers are not aware there is a requirement to report incidents under the diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations," he said.
(BMcC)
The alert came from a coroner who highlighted the dangers of attack posed by cows which have calved.
This followed an incident in which a man from Tyrone died as a result of crush injuries to the chest and abdomen sustained in one such attack.
The inquest into the death of retired farmer Peter Fox, 76, from Creggan Road, Carrickmore, heard that on May 4, 2007, he had gone to check a cow on his land but had failed to return to his house.
His sister-in-law, Mary Fox, went in search of him and found him "slumped in the corner of the paddock" and went to his aid.
As a result, she was then also attacked by the mad cow: "The cow head-butted me on the lower left side knocking me into a ditch," she said.
"Peter and I were able to walk over to the left hand side of the paddock," she said.
Her nephew arrived and phoned for the ambulance and tended to the injured man.
"Peter stopped breathing while sitting on the sofa," she said.
They took instructions from the ambulance personnel on the phone, but were unable to revive him.
She said prior to the attack Mr Fox had been farming during the day and was in good health.
Malcolm Downey, inspector from NI Health and Safety Executive, told the hearing that it was likely the cow attacked Mr Fox as it was trying to protect its calf.
He said changes in hormone levels after calving can lead to protective behaviour.
The cow had returned to a docile state when it was returned to the farm the following day, he said.
"There is always potential before or after calving for some cows to become more protective than others, particularly beef suckler cows rather than dairy," he said.
The official warned of under-reporting of these types of incidents: "Many farmers are not aware there is a requirement to report incidents under the diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations," he said.
(BMcC)
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