Cambridge’s cows are just too clever for this cattle grid
Clever cows have worked out how to bypass the cattle grids maintained by Cambridgeshire County Council on Ditton Meadows – simply by carefully stepping around them.
The narrow grids have a pedestrian access to one side that is not fenced off, which allows the cattle to easily sidestep the bars.
The animals have been found wandering out of fields and towards the main road by walkers and joggers, who have had to herd them back into their pasture.
Runner Kree Pearce filmed herself herding one animal back onto the meadow after it had escaped – clearly showing how it was able to nimbly step around the cattle grid without any trouble.
Posting it on a Facebook group, she explained that she frequently runs past the cattle, who are friendly, but that she was worried for their safety.
She found the one shown in these pictures near to a main road, she told the Facebook group.
One respondent said: “Very good and confident herding back! They can bypass the cattle grids if they choose to very easily, as can be seen. Clever cows.”
Joanna Holland, who originally found the animal outside the field in a passageway between Wadloes Road and Ditton Walk, and left a message for the farmer, said: “I saw it as I was walking my dog down onto the meadows. It was just eating from the tree down the passageway.”
Cambridge city councillor Naomi Bennett (Abbey, Green) said: “We have been aware of problems with the cattle grids before, especially on at the Chisholm Trail, which was broken recently with one of the rods sheared off due to wear and tear.
“It must have been quite a slim steer to get through this gap. The difficulty is that if you just put a gate all the way across it prevents some people with disabilities from being able to pass through without having someone there to open the gate.
“Perhaps some kind of slalom gate – where people can wind their way through – may be appropriate, but cattle may be able to get through those too.”
Last year cows were also able to escape through a cattle grid at Mill Lane in Cambridge city centre that had been installed as part of Cambridgeshire County Council’s active travel scheme.
A county council spokesperson said of this latest cattle escape: “This isn’t linked to our active travel programme, but our highways team will look into how the cows have managed to get past the cattle grid and we’ll work with the farmer to see if we can make the area more secure.”
