In February 2024 The Heath and Safety Executive re-launched their ‘Your Farm, Your Future’ campaign with a particular focus on the dangers of livestock. The statistics kept by the Heath and Safety Executive are sobering. Incidents involving livestock were the number one cause of work-related deaths on British farms. In 2022/23, there was a total of eight such deaths.
When updated figures were released for the year to March 2024 NFU Deputy President and Farm Safety Partnership chair David Exwood put the position very eloquently when he noted that: “Every number is not just a statistic – it is a personal tragedy”.
There have been a number of recent instances of tragic deaths of dog walkers and other individuals exercising access rights. So, what can a landowner do in such circumstances? How might appropriate signage help to reduce risk of death or serious injury caused by livestock and how can landowners keep themselves on the right side of the law?
The Health and Safety Executive have prepared a helpful Information Sheet with advice for farmers, landowners and other livestock keepers which is available on their website.
As the Information sheet explains:
“The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 created the right of ‘responsible public access’ to most land and inland water in Scotland. The right of responsible access can be exercised on and off paths, on open and enclosed land. Public rights of way continue to exist and a system of ‘core paths’ is being developed by local authorities that will need to be treated in the same manner as rights of way.”
Please click here to visit the HSE’s website where you can download a copy of the Information Sheet.
The HSE Information sheet runs through various precautions for those grazing bulls or groups of entire male cattle as well as other cattle such as:
- not keeping bulls in fields with public rights of way, statutory or other types of permitted access including core paths. Deliberately placing an animal or animals known to be aggressive in order to deter access is likely to be regarded as obstruction and the local authority could take action;
- assessing whether the animals in the herd are generally placid and well-behaved;
- wherever possible using fields or areas infrequently used by the public, especially when cattle are calving or have calves at foot;
- check that fences, gates, stiles etc are safe and fit for purpose;
- clearly mark alternative paths that avoid areas with cattle.
Whilst for those in the industry most of these will be precautions which they have already had implemented for some time, the Information Sheet is a useful guide and one worth reviewing to consider if there are any other precautions which might be brought in to improve safety.
There are also helpful tips on signage including best practice to try to avoid suggestions that signs are being used wrongly to deter the public from exercising their access rights:
"You cannot use the presence of an animal, eg a bull, to deter walkers from accessing a core path or public footpath.
The Scottish Outdoor Access Code advises the public to be aware of potentially dangerous farm animals, to keep a safe distance if passing through an area with livestock and to consider using an alternative route. The Code advises people not to take dogs into fields where there are young animals present.
For more on the Right to Roam and the rights and responsibilities of both landowners and members of the public please see our article.
The Scottish Outdoor Access Code is available online here.