Cow attacks in Swiss mountains spark concerns

One of the novelties of hiking in the Swiss mountains in the summer is coming across herds of cows, even at high elevations.

For a man and woman walking in the Jura Mountains near Geneva last month the novel experience turned decidedly ugly.

The couple, in their 30s, was surrounded by a herd of cows near the highest peak in the mountain chain at around 1,700 metres.

The cows lowered their heads and attacked the woman while preventing the pair of them from moving.

They were only released from the terrifying ordeal by a Rega air rescue helicopter, which scared off the troupe by hovering above the animals.

A doctor and a medical assistant were lowered to the ground to assist the couple and to transport the woman to the hospital, where she was treated for facial injuries.

It was just the latest in a series of scary encounters between hikers and cows, normally docile beasts, which can nonetheless behave unpredictably if they feel threatened.

In early June an 80-year-old hiker died after being attacked by a bull while he was traversing a field near Uznach in the canton of St. Gallen.

The man was taken to hospital for treatment of serious injuries but he did not survive.

This occurred just a few weeks after a cow in the same area trampled a 68-year-old farmer’s wife to death after she and her husband attempted to separate it from its calf.

And last week a 68-year-old man was trampled by cows in the Klöntal region of canton Glarus.

“Have our cows gone wild?” asked the Tages Anzeiger newspaper in an article published this week that was devoted to the bovine attacks.

Cows are, after all, a beloved part of Swiss life, with their clanging bells and their annual pilgrimages to Alpine pastures.

Experts assure that the chances of being attacked by the burly animals while walking in Switzerland’s  mountains remains remote, even though there are thousands of them around.

“It’s very rare that something bad happens,” Regula Schneider, a spokeswoman for the Swiss cattle breeders association (Mutterkuh Schweiz) told Swisster.

The recent cases of attacks “are very tragic - they move all farmers in Switzerland,” she said.

“We are all very shocked.”  

No statistics are kept in Switzerland on cattle attacks but such incidents usually involve farmers themselves, with minor injuries, rather than hikers and other members of the public, Schneider said.

Mutterkuh Schweiz is nonetheless encouraging its members to remain in contact with hikers’ associations to minimize conflicts.

In the case of the bull that attacked the 80-year-old hiker in St. Gallen, it is clear that either the animal should not have been there or that the hiking trail should have been elsewhere, Schneider said.

Changes in the Swiss cattle industry over the past 20 years have increased the risk of unpleasant encounters.

“The biggest change is there are more and more beef cattle,” Schneider said.

Cows are more often seen with their calves, “which is very natural”, she said.

But cows are very protective of their offspring during the first month and hikers should not approach or try to pet the young animals, Schneider said.

The population of cows in Switzerland has remained stable at around 700,000. While in the past they were all dairy herds, however, now about 100,000 of them are bred for beef.

The other increase in risk of attacks is the fact there are many more hikers on the trails, Schneider said.

Increasing numbers of mountain bikers and joggers are using trails through pastures, as well.

But cows have long been a feature of the Swiss mountain landscape and “I think in the future it should remain a part of the scene,” Schneider said.

Experts warn hikers to take special care when a bull, or a juvenile, is near a hiking trail.

Franz Blöchlinger, an animal welfare officer from the canton of St. Gallen, said farmers also have a responsibility.

Animals that are let to run wild for the summer are “neglected” and no longer as accustomed to human contact, Blöchlinger told Tages Anzeiger.

It is “imperative” that farmers have regular contact with their animals,he said.

Rega, the Swiss rescue service, recently issued a series of recommendations for hikers to avoid nasty incidents with cows:

- Stay on the trail
- keep a lookout for menacing signs from cows
- if they seem aggressive, stay calm and avoid looking the animals in the eye
- do not turn your back on them
- do not gesture with a stick
- do not pet young calves and keep at a distance from them
- dog owners should keep their pets on a leash