Farmer acquitted after walkers injured by cows
Malcolm Galloway, instructed by David Chant and Felicity Wooley of DWF, successfully defended a Devon farmer in a two week jury trial in relation to an allegation of s.3 HSWA after a couple were injured by cows in a field with a public right of way.
The couple, with their two dogs, had walked through the middle of the herd of cows with calves and been seriously injured by the cows. The trial jury rejected the HSE’s suggestion that cows with calves should never be in the same field with public footpaths and accepted the defence argument that the HSE’s own Guidance (Sheet No 17EW) permitted the situation after the farmer had properly considered the structure of his farm (36% of fields had a public right of way), had put in place an effective system for the selection of cows for their temperament, had put up clear signing to warn of the dangers and had undertaken proper supervision of the herd.