Cow reported to police for chasing women and mooing loudly

A cow has been reported to police after chasing people through a field in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, prompting concern that potential dangers of livestock are not being “taken seriously". Officers were called to reports of a cow chasing members of the public, including a group of young women, near the Mill Pond, a popular spot with tourists and picnickers. One resident, who asked not to be named, said she witnessed the “aggressive" cow run quickly towards three women and “attack" them in an unprovoked manner. She said: “I saw a group of three women with a dog walking on the road, and the cow attacked them by running towards them, some times in an aggressive way.



“It seemed no one got hurt, although the women were scared and ran away. Its intention was clearly aggressive and it was not provocated as there were no calves in the field. In the UK, two bypassers a year are killed by cows and many more get injured – no one is taking it seriously." Cows can often be spotted grazing in the Mill Pond area “On any sunny day about a hundred people have picnics among the cows and hundreds more walk on the roads inside the enclosed area daily without suspecting any danger. I think the trouble cow should be moved to another place." The incident was reported to Cambridgeshire police before being passed on to Cambridge City Council.

A police spokesman said: “We were called with reports that a cow had been chasing members of the public and mooing loudly in a field near Mill Pond in Cambridge. The incident happened on a public footpath through a field between Darwin College and the Hilton Hotel. The issue was reported to the city council to investigate." Cattle are able to graze on common land across Cambridge and are looked after by 'Pinder', a group of cattle handlers from Cambridge City Council. Lauren Hodges, general manager of The Mill, said the cows were a regular sight in the area and admitted they did “stampede a bit" but added they weren't “ferocious beasts". She said: “When there's tourists and people not used to livestock they tend to pet the animals and try to feed them and that can cause some confusion, especially for the animals.



“We have seen it happen but they aren't dangerous. They aren't particularly ferocious beasts, they are just livestock and perhaps should be treated as livestock and not as Cambridge's pets. It's about educating people not to pet them or feed them. They are really lovely animals – it's mainly tourists who don't know what to do with them." Cambridge's grazing cows still have fans despite safety fears. Leeane Cooper, 40, said she did not have a problem with the animals while visiting Cambridge over the weekend. She said: “As long as the owner is confident that they are used to being around people then it's absolutely wonderful to see them sharing the same space. I suppose the concern would be if there are young calves but as long as that's taken into consideration then it's okay." Gary Kay, 29, added: “They look fine – people have been going up and touching them. They haven't been aggressive in any way." No one from the city council was available for comment.