Churchway Footpath Alterations And Animal Welfare

Today I received the following email:

Hi Perranuthnoe, I understand that the Churchway footpath alterations have been giving cause for concern.

Since the beginning of Feb my cows have escaped three times from their field. In escaping, end up in one of the two empty fields with the footpath in. Because there is nothing in there, they hop the stiles into the broccoli fields at either end. I have seen them do this as have Gill and Frank Tanner. I have never put the cows in these fields on purpose. So, having added additional fencing to their field I needed an insurance policy just in case they got out again.

I spoke to Gareth Griffiths of the Parish council who advised me to contact the County Council footpath dept. This I did, and last Thursday Colin Bayes visited the stiles in question. The County Council do not provide labour or materials to make modifications, but he came up with the idea of the upright posts which is what I have done. I don’t have the wherewithal to provide gates, hanging posts or closing posts but if anyone in the village would like to donate some then I could approach Colin Bayes again to get written permission to install these instead (gates need written permission apparently). At no time have I added or removed stones from these stiles.

Today I learnt that these modifications have been causing concern so I have spoken to Colin Bayes again. He said if anyone had a concern they should speak to Dan Senior at the County Council. He can be contacted on 0300 1234 202.

Moreover, it would seem like my dairy venture is likely to die before it has drawn its first breath? Why? Someone in the village has been very vocal about the lack of welfare of my animals. Would I buy from a retailer who apparently takes matters into her own hands when it comes to footpaths and the welfare of her stock is suspect? No I would not. I would say no smoke without fire and avoid that person and her wares. So, for that reason I extend an open invitation to anyone to come and look at my animals so they can see for themselves. It would be good to phone me first (07980 313739) so I may accompany you. I will answer any questions you may have so you can come to your own conclusions based on facts rather than assumptions.

Daisy, Guinevere and Primrose have enough space to roam. They have three sources of water and a choice of hay or silage to eat. Their barn has 20mm rubber matting on the floor for insulation and covered in straw. At milking Daisy has dairy nuts and sugar beet shreds for additional protein and carbohydrates. After milking her udder is rubber with a peppermint and Camomile salve, her teats have a moisturiser/ waterproofer so she doesn’t get chapped and her teat tips are sprayed with an iodine ointment as protection against mastitis.

Thank you for reading this.

Karen

I would urge all you photographers out there to please go along and take photos of Karen's animals and the posts and anything else that is causing concern so that others, who may not be able to walk there themselves can make their own judgements.

This needs to be sorted as quickly as possible,. The dairy is a positive move and will be great for the village as well as for this rare breed of cow the Whitebred Shorthorns!

Please feel free to send me your photos, pics@perranuthnoe.com
As always, comments welcome.
Thank you
Kay