Warning not to go too near animals

Murthly Estate workers have warned families considering a walk in the countryside not to wander too close to farm buildings or animals following a frightening incident reported last week.

Staff posted a statement on social media urging people to stick to approved routes while out and about around Perthshire after a resident reported adults letting children near cows and their calves at feeding time on the farm last Tuesday.

The statement, which was published on the Murthly Village Facebook page on Saturday, read:“On Tuesday afternoon there was a very dangerous situation at the feeding station just beyond the farm crossroads that was reported to us by a resident at Douglasfield Cottages.

“This resident saw two young children running around/through the station in an excitable manner and making a lot of noise while the accompanying adult(s) stood by watching.

“To cut a long story short, this put the children (and the cattle) in [a] potentially very dangerous situation and it would have taken just one protective mother to become anxious enough to see fit to protect her calf by wading over the top of the calves or bursting a gate to have made that situation real.

“A one ton cow with red rage can seriously injure or kill a fully grown man – the potential consequences for those children was unthinkable.

“At any rate, the local resident was concerned enough to report the incident to the farm hands. We don’t know who the children or adults were but it was a very uncomfortable situation for the farm.”

And the post stressed:“Farmyards are dangerous work spaces and consequently are explicitly excluded from public access, apart from core path routes, such as the one heading down the hill past the sheds to the Gellyburn track.

“People shouldn’t wander off that track to have a look round the farm buildings.

“In essence, for the public it’s all about understanding animal behaviour and respecting other people’s working spaces.

“In turn, we as an estate need to respect that the public have a right to responsible … access and accommodate it in a reasonable manner.”