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New Attribute Please?


PopUpPirate

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Snowmobiles, or ticks, or snakes aren't always much of an issue around where I live (although I am sure they are valid elsewhere), although it would be handy to have an attribute icon for cattle and/or farm dogs.

This has been a bit of a live issue lately on the United Kingdom Forum where the subject of cattle and other livestock in fields has been raised several times over recent months, for example:

 

Main Reason You Can't Get The Cache?

 

Aggressive Cows, How Would You Deal With Them?

 

As you can see feelings do run high and for many British GeoCachers aggressive/over-inquisitive livestock are seen as the major hazard to caching. Is this just an issue in the British Isles where we are all packed together tightly and the average farm holding is less than 200 acres. Most of our rural caches are accessed over traditional "right of way" footpaths which have been used habitually over generations, and farmers have the right to graze livestock on such land. Given that most rural caches are on or adjacent to farmland and are reached by RoW footpaths over farmland you can see that this is a hot topic for us. The relevant legislation (for England & Wales) states that:

The Wildlife and Countryside Act, enforced by the highway authority, makes it an offence, subject to important exceptions, for the occupier of a field crossed by a right of way to cause or allow a bull to be at large in it. The exceptions are:

 

bulls not more than ten months old; and

bulls which are not of a recognised dairy breed and which are at large with cows or heifers

Any bull over ten months old is prohibited on its own, and any such bull which is of a recognised dairy breed is prohibited even if accompanied by cows and heifers.

 

[Dairy breeds are Ayrshire, British Friesian, British Holstein, Dairy Shorthorn, Guernsey, Jersey, and Kerry.]

 

In general anyone taking a dog on a right of way is responsible for keeping it under proper control. If a dog is allowed to run around off the path, trespass is committed against the holder of the land.

 

There is no rule requiring a dog to be kept on a lead on a right of way but it is an offence to allow a dog to be at large in a field or enclosure in which there are sheep (Dogs (Protection of Livestock ) Act 1953). It is also an offence to allow a dog to attack or chase livestock.

Rights of Way law in Scotland and Ireland (both North & South) is slightly different if similar.

 

Is this a problem for GeoCachers outside the British Isles or are we the only ones who experience hazardous livestock on footpaths and around cache sites? What attribute category might be most relevant to cover aggressive cows, farm dogs, geese, ....

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Look out for the hamsters over there, they're quite lively this time of year.

Strangely I was talking to my sister in Scotland today and their hamster had escaped from its exercise ball and "might" have dragged a TB under the settee - luckily it was a false alarm otherwise it would have had to be listed as unknown location - grabbed by hamster :(

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Is this a problem for GeoCachers outside the British Isles or are we the only ones who experience hazardous livestock on footpaths and around cache sites?

 

Lots of pastureland in Denmark is placed on the less accessible (by agricultural machinery, that is) areas down to the coastline. Coupled with legislation that guarantees free access to Danish beaches, this means that lots of beach or near-beach caches are in publically accesible areas within cattle enclosures.

 

For instance, The Major's Box 3 has a "beware of the bull" notice and even nice pictures of the testy bovine.

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Having lived in the UK until my 30s, another major "warning" attribute needed would be dog poo. Some places around here could need it too.

 

2006-07-25_081238_poo-yes.gif

 

And on a more serious note, the OP's request is a very valid one. Having hiked many miles through farmland in the UK, livestock really was a serious issue at times..ranging from sheep following you in a very neat line (plain embarrassing) to curious cows (inti-moo-dating), to the mad bull (ruuun!).

Edited by Maingray
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I must admit to walking through "beasts of the field" more than once on a cache hunt. No big deal to me as I was raised around it but I can see how a very large animal of any temperment could be intimidating to some. In all seriousness - might not be a bad attribute to add.

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What would this attribute icon look like?

 

cow.gif

 

Love it. ...

 

I can't help but wonder if the same need for the new icon wouldn't apply to several situations including here in the US.

 

Now we only need a good "pig" icon ....

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cow.gif

 

Love the Icon Yellow ants :unsure:

 

I think the attribute could be a fairly useful feature. I've been surrounded by cattle on a number of occasions whilst caching (and whilst just out walking).

 

I'm not scared of them now but I remember years ago when I was a kid, me and my sister got scared witless by a herd of young cattle. They surrounded us so we ran off which just got them all excited and they chased us! To get away we had to climb up a tree :( Now I know all you need to do to scare them off is usually wave your arms and shout at them :)

 

The new attribute would be useful for people who are scare of or unwilling to go near cattle or other livestock. The only slight problem I can see is that cattle get moved around quite a bit from field to field, so the cache owner would need to keep updating their cache page - not too much of a problem though.

 

b4860f4a-ffd9-4ed8-bcb1-0876d167cbf8.jpg

 

bfe67254-1b05-4351-9cda-a6687dd137e9.jpg

 

2ac03571-73ce-430b-9887-2486ebdb1ecb.jpg

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This would be better in the website forum, so I'll bump it over there. Look out for the hamsters over there, they're quite lively this time of year.

 

:unsure:

What would this attribute icon look like?

 

I have to be honest and say this is a rather unique request.

 

mancow.gif

Funny or unique request, I can assure you it is a very valid one! That article is sadly not a one off incident but is however rare.

 

I have a cache that is in a field with cattle in it. The farmer is well aware that there is a cache there and is happy for it to be there. However he wanted people to know about the cattle and no dogs to be taken into the field. If this attribute was available I certainly would use it.

 

I have often visited caches within the UK that have meant going through fields that have cattle in them. For me this isn't a problem, as they don't bother me. I do know of many cachers that are afraid of cattle and have had to turn back from a search due to them being in their way. Like myself there are cachers who would leave their dogs behind if they had an advance warning of cattle being present during the hunt.

 

I think this is a perfectly valid and serious request that should be considered seriously.

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What would this attribute icon look like?

 

I have to be honest and say this is a rather unique request.

 

mancow.gif

...

 

I think this is a perfectly valid and serious request that should be considered seriously.

What you've never heard the saying from your Emerald neighbors to the SW?:

 

Take a serious statement and make a joke of it,

take a joke and make a serious statement of it.

 

:unsure:

:(

 

Doesn't belittle the original statement one bit, even makes it stick in the mind, as it where.

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Snowmobiles, or ticks, or snakes aren't always much of an issue around where I live (although I am sure they are valid elsewhere), although it would be handy to have an attribute icon for cattle and/or farm dogs.

 

Thanks!

 

Yep, definitely agree. We aren't particularly shy of animals, but we were seeking a cache a week ago or so where there were cattle and being stared at by a herd of bullocks, all bigger than you with the ability to run much faster can be very, very intimidating I can assure you!

 

Bambi.

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I agree - a cattle attribute would be brilliant.

 

I have a couple of caches which require cachers to cross fields which probably have cows, and possibly bulls in them. I've done my best to point it out on the page, but an attribute would allow people to search for appropriate caches - especially if they have young children.

 

(for reference, read this log and also this one)

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This attribute would most certainly be of use to us. Cattle appear to have an inbred hatred of our canine friends (at least the UK ones do anyway) and as the owners of a dog who almost always comes caching with us it would be very useful to know in advance if we are likely to come across cattle.

We have been caught out on several occasions, once being completely surrounded by a herd, very scary I can tel you, and another time trapped on the wrong side of a field for nearly an hour with no way back other than through the cow field.

 

PLEASE PLEASE do give this serious consideration.

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What would this attribute icon look like?

 

cow.gif

I agree Yellow Ants icon is excellent, titled as Livestock.

 

(Looking at the other fauna icons, shouldn't it be facing the other way though? :lol: )

 

draft_cow-yes.gif

 

draft_cow-no.gif

 

It's those coming at you from the West you have to really watch out for any way.

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