Great escape of the lovelorn Bernera bull
£10k ‘Jurassic Park’ fence couldn’t stop him, court told
A CROFTER was forced to spend £10,000 on an 8ft fence to keep a marauding bull away from her herd of pedigree Highland cows, a court was told yesterday.
Kathleen Allen and husband Bernard allege the Belted Galloway bull was found more than 30 times on their land on the Hebridean island of Great Bernera.
They claim that one of their cows was impregnated by the bull.
The couple allege that cross-breeding compromises the value of their herd and are suing their former neighbours for £20,000.
Bull owner David Hargreaves denies his animal sired the Allens’ calf and is demanding proof that it is the father.
Mrs Allen told a hearing at Stornoway Sheriff Court she kept ‘watch 18 hours a day’ for the regular ‘invasion of the Hargreaves’ bull’, calling police out some 30 times to shift the animal.
She said: ‘I spent nearly £10,000 on an 8ft-high fence to stop their cattle from coming on to my croft. It was known locally in the village as the Jurassic Park fence.’
Papers lodged with the court explain that Mr and Mrs Allen set up a small herd of pedigree Highland cattle on their two adjoining crofts in 2005, planning to breed and expand their numbers.
In an attempt to capture a premium price for their livestock, they joined a cattle health scheme in which their animals were tested annually.
One rule is that the cattle must never come in contact with animals that are not within the scheme.
At one point, the herd was temporarily moved to the safety of the nearby village of Hacklete to breed with a Highland bull.
Mr Hargreaves and his wife Janine now live in Ardgay in Sutherland.
They say they erected an electric fence to keep their bull at home but it was vandalised 16 times.
They also say an unknown person kept moving their livestock on to the Allens’ land without their knowledge by opening their gate and herding their cattle next door.
The hearing, presided over by Sheriff David Sutherland, continues.