Terrified by shouting, angry farmer .. what to do next?

shellsuit

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle wrote: »

I think it is just common sense to be honest - i'll probably get slated for saying that but being someone who grew up terrified of dogs (i still am unsure of some) i keep my dogs on a lead or at my heel while i hold them by the collar if there are people passing. My dogs will happily saunter past anyone without batting an eyelid but i try to think of others first. I know how terrifying it can be walking a path where unleashed dogs are - you never know if they are ''good'' or not. And a so-called ''good'' dog that comes anywhere near you when you are walking can still petrify you.

Now if other animals are about the lead goes straight on, this includes other dogs as yes i trust my own but i don't trust others - there are countless amount of times when my dogs have been on lead and others have too excitedly bounded over and caused a stir and you have to tell the owners to take their dogs away. I don't mind if they come and sniff as mine don't mind that but they'll still be on lead so i have some control if a sutuation arrises. They are animals and animals can be unpredictable even if they are well trained.

To me it is just common courtesy. Not everyone likes dogs, this includes walkers, kids, runners and farmers, and i respect that. If you dog so much as stops and looks at the cattle or horses it can cause a problem - animals act on body language, the slightest thing (beit nothing at all in our eyes) could trigger a problem.

Still i think agree the farmer was wrong. I don't agree with dogs being off lead around livestock whether it is law or not. Two wrongs don't make a right though - in my opinion you have every right to contact the police and please do so as you feel so strongly about it, just please learn from it on your own side too.

I walk and climb hilly cliff areas with my dogs, all you need is a retractable lead, if they know not to pull too far ahead you don't get the dangerous pulling from them that could cause a fall.

Good for you ellie! :T

I don't like dogs, my daughter is petrified of dogs and if I or her see a dog off a lead, we turn and walk the other way.

I wish dog owners would realise this and call them to them when they see other people around.

And please nobody tell me that their dog is friendly and won't run off/kick off because you just DON'T know that. The only thing you do know is that your dog hasn't done it yet.

Paddysmum, in future if I were you, I would keep your dogs on a lead when walking that way again, but the farmer was out of order to threaten you like that.

You can report him, but it will only be your word against his, and he could make a c0ck and bull story up to say your dogs were running wild.

JCS1

gwhizz75 wrote: »

From my personal experience, I have never met a happy, friendly farmer. Every farmer I have ever met has come across as grumpy, rude and aggressive. Many of them seem to think that it is everyone else's fault that they do such a hard job and get paid a pittance by Tesco for their milk.

Anyway, I had a similar experience when I was younger. Me and my boyfriend were flying a kite on a public pathway through a field and this apparantly startled some lambs. There were no animals in the actual field we were in, and none that we could see nearby... I also wasn't aware at the time that a kite would startle sheep.

Next thing we know, some guy is coming at us on his quad bike shouting his face off, swearing like hell and threatening to smash the kite over our heads. I was quite shaken up, but luckily my boyfriend who is very calm and reasonable in these situations was there with me. He asked him why he couldn't just talk to us in a reasonable manner, instead of coming across like a violent thug and the angry farmer didn't really have an answer for that.

Don't get me wrong, I am sorry I startled his sheep. As an animal lover, I would never wish to cause fear or pain to any animal intentionally. However, it was unintentional and there was no need for him to behave like some kind of caveman. Nobody has the right to threaten violence towards another individual. Somehow in his mind, he felt that me unintentionally scaring his sheep gave him the right to intentionally scare me.

I think some people just don't have the intelligence to deal with these situations like rational human beings. We didn't ring the police, on reflection we should have. I was only 17 or something at the time and we certainly didn't look/act like a pair of chavvy menaces - he had no right or reason to think he could talk to us like that. Neither did the farmer in the OP's story. Report him.

Do you know if there were any pregnant sheep in the field that were startled? If there were lambs I suspect there might have been.

Startled sheep run round in circles and get stressed (similar to if they were being worried by a dog) - this does cause sheep to miscarry and have still births.

So similar to the OP, I can understand why the farmer got upset but he should have handled the situation differently.

The_Banker_5

gwhizz75 wrote: »

I think some people just don't have the intelligence to deal with these situations like rational human beings. Neither did the farmer in the OP's story. Report him.

And as a rational human being you should also appreciate that there are 2 sides to every story.;)

gwhizz75

No, I know. And I do see it from his point of view.... BUT as a rational human being (;)) I would never shout and threaten somebody for unintentionally doing something wrong. I mean, it's not the farmer's concern that I object to, it is the way that they handled it - like violent, aggressive thugs. There's just no need!

The_Banker_5

gwhizz75 wrote: »

No, I know. And I do see it from his point of view.... BUT as a rational human being (;)) I would never shout and threaten somebody for unintentionally doing something wrong. I mean, it's not the farmer's concern that I object to, it is the way that they handled it - like violent, aggressive thugs. There's just no need!

What proof do you have that the farmer behaved like a violent aggresive thug?;)

January20

paddy's_mum wrote: »

Ive often said that when you're too close to a problem, you can't see the obvious answer so now it's my turn to ask what others would do.

First off, please google TF4926 and look at the photograph entitled 'Cowpats everywhere'. The events I want to describe took place in terrain virtually identical to that shown in the picture.

I've recently begun walking the Macmillan Way, both for my own fitness but also to raise a little bit of money for the charity. Today, my walk passed along an area of sea bank that had beef cattle beside it, just like the picture above. Two or three young steers were grazing actually on the footpath. They were slow to realise my two dogs and I were there but once they did notice us, they skittered down off the bank to join the rest of the peacefully grazing herd on the riverside terrace.

Two hundred yards further along the path, I was suddenly confronted by one large, hostile and angry farmer who, while shouting that he was entitled to shoot my dogs for chasing his cattle (emphatically, they were not - they were off lead and under close control) was blocking the path and generally behaving in an aggressive manner. I pulled out my mobile phone and asked him to drop the aggression or I would call the Police. He finally stood aside and let me pass before shouting that "if I catch you up here (a clearly marked and well used public footpath!) again, I'll shoot your dogs, and they'll have to carry you out an' all".

I read only about 1/2 the replies to your post so my apologies if this has been mentioned before but, the line I highlighted, isn't that a death threat in the context that he clearly said before he would shoot your dogs?

Regarless of whether the dogs were on a lead or not, whether they scared the cattle or not, etc... nothing gives the farmer the right to threaten to shoot and possibly kill you. For that reason only, I would go to the police.

ceridwen

shellsuit wrote: »

Good for you ellie! :T

I don't like dogs, my daughter is petrified of dogs and if I or her see a dog off a lead, we turn and walk the other way.

I wish dog owners would realise this and call them to them when they see other people around.

And please nobody tell me that their dog is friendly and won't run off/kick off because you just DON'T know that. The only thing you do know is that your dog hasn't done it yet.

Paddysmum, in future if I were you, I would keep your dogs on a lead when walking that way again, but the farmer was out of order to threaten you like that.

You can report him, but it will only be your word against his, and he could make a c0ck and bull story up to say your dogs were running wild.

I think many of us will be nervous of "some" dogs - I dont take to my heels if a dog is around. I know some dogs are downright friendly/harmless/lovable characters - but if any dog starts running at me and jumping then I will instantly stand stock still and wait for the owner to call it to heel and put it on a lead. Dog owners do have to accept responsibility for the conduct of their dogs - its part of being a dog owner.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Going back to the point about the farmer losing his temper - has no-one ever lost their temper when it was justified to do so - but then forgotten all about it once things "went back to normal". i think we've all done that somewhere along the line very occasionally when it was justified and there didnt seem to be any other way to convey the seriousness of our "message". It happens. If there was a cause for it happening - then I still think one just puts it down to experience - rather than thinking that that indicates something about the person concerned. Put it in the context of a mother seeing someone threatening her child - any halfway decent mother would react VERY strongly indeed - but that wouldnt mean she would make a habit of it and need an "official warning". She just did so on that occasion because that was what was necessary to protect her child. The farmer sees this the same way about his animals - perfectly understandable.

But - even as someone who doesnt want children myself - I would lose my temper bigtime if I spotted someone maltreating either a child or an animal in front of me - one should/most of us would. So - how much more protective is a farmer going to be of his animals? 1. They are living beings 2. They are his property and some of his money is tied up in them.

Okay - he shouldnt have said some of the things he said in the heat of the moment - but I really disagree strongly with creating any further aggro/hassle in the circumstances. It's almost certainly a one-off - and I think it should be treated that way.

There is enough and to spare of aggro in this life without needlessly creating some more....

I do feel "let it rest" is the best advice to give. We arent all living on the set of "Eastenders" - perish the thought that we think thats how to conduct our lives - I would like to think very few people live that way.

gwhizz75

The_Banker wrote: »

What proof do you have that the farmer behaved like a violent aggresive thug?;)

I have a witness.... although he's not so independent I suppose...

ceridwen

gwhizz75 wrote: »

I have a witness.... although he's not so independent I suppose...

?

bestpud

ceridwen wrote: »

I think many of us will be nervous of "some" dogs - I dont take to my heels if a dog is around. I know some dogs are downright friendly/harmless/lovable characters - but if any dog starts running at me and jumping then I will instantly stand stock still and wait for the owner to call it to heel and put it on a lead. Dog owners do have to accept responsibility for the conduct of their dogs - its part of being a dog owner.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Going back to the point about the farmer losing his temper - has no-one ever lost their temper when it was justified to do so - but then forgotten all about it once things "went back to normal". i think we've all done that somewhere along the line very occasionally when it was justified and there didnt seem to be any other way to convey the seriousness of our "message". It happens. If there was a cause for it happening - then I still think one just puts it down to experience - rather than thinking that that indicates something about the person concerned. Put it in the context of a mother seeing someone threatening her child - any halfway decent mother would react VERY strongly indeed - but that wouldnt mean she would make a habit of it and need an "official warning". She just did so on that occasion because that was what was necessary to protect her child. The farmer sees this the same way about his animals - perfectly understandable.

But - even as someone who doesnt want children myself - I would lose my temper bigtime if I spotted someone maltreating either a child or an animal in front of me - one should/most of us would. So - how much more protective is a farmer going to be of his animals? 1. They are living beings 2. They are his property and some of his money is tied up in them.

Okay - he shouldnt have said some of the things he said in the heat of the moment - but I really disagree strongly with creating any further aggro/hassle in the circumstances. It's almost certainly a one-off - and I think it should be treated that way.

There is enough and to spare of aggro in this life without needlessly creating some more....

I do feel "let it rest" is the best advice to give. We arent all living on the set of "Eastenders" - perish the thought that we think thats how to conduct our lives - I would like to think very few people live that way.

Isn't losing your temper with people causing unnecessary aggro...?

FWIW, no I don't tend to lose my temper with and/or shout at people!