Vet on Call: Beware, that beloved dairy cow could kill you

The call came at 7am and I could feel the distress in the voice. Joyce from Ruai wanted to know whether her cow could be suffering from rabies or some form of madness.

It took me a few moments to understand Joyce’s issue as I calmed her down. It turned out her lovely Ayrshire-Zebu cross dairy cow had just attacked and left her with a thigh injury. The injury was caused by the protruding apex of the cow’s skull, since the animal had been dehorned.

I enquired if the cow was eating, drinking water, salivating or attempting to bite anything, including non-living objects.

She said the cow had butted her twice with the head after milking and proceeded to eat as though there had been no problem. There was no salivation and milk production for the evening was normal.

From the explanation, I advised the farmer to seek treatment for the injury but the cow appeared to have just been agitated by something I could not tell from the phone report. I further told Joyce and her workers to treat the animal with care to avoid injuries.

In the course of my work, I always get reports of people who have been attacked by livestock of different species, including rabbits.

One worker was bitten and clawed badly by a rabbit and had to get anti-tetanus and anti-rabies treatment. “What an expense from the actions of such a tiny animal?” the rabbit owner had remarked upon the huge medical bill she paid for her worker’s treatment.

There have been media reports of people attacked or killed by farm animals. A YouTube clip of a ram chasing and knocking people down in a Brazilian town made headlines five years ago and many viewers found it hilarious based on how widely it was circulated. Unfortunately, it was evident that the victims of the ram bore the attack with pain, embarrassment and possibly serious injury.

A hit by a ram on the head will easily cause human death due to brain damage. On the thigh or hip, it will cause fractures while on the abdomen, a victim may end up with ruptured organs.

I recall when we were herds boys, we would entice bulls to fight with rams. One strong adult bull was fallen by a single headbutt from a ram.

ANIMALS HAVE THEIR EMOTIONS

The disgraced patriarch of the herd woke up after about five minutes and never spurred with rams again. Many years later in veterinary school, I learnt the bull had fainted due to the ram’s blunt force to the brain.

The big question I always get from my clients and other people is, “Why do farm animals fight humans?” The answer lies in understanding animal behaviour.

Like human beings, livestock are living creatures with brains that think and chemicals such as hormones that moderate their thinking for docility, aggression, fight or flight.

Brain activity generates actions of liking, loving, fear or protection. It is against this background that animal welfare has in recent years become a key aspect of livestock production.

Animal scientists and animal welfare advocates have realised that although farm animals do not talk in a language that human beings understand, they have their emotions that must at all times be kept as pleasant as possible, even in the final stages of their lives when they are slaughtered to feed humans.

If we all mirror our emotions of fear, liking, loving and the need to protect with those of farm animals, then we shall make great strides in preventing livestock attacks on humans.

The worker who was attacked by a rabbit became a victim because he was not aware the animal had given birth for the first time.

He went to remove the rabbit from its house as he was used to when cleaning it. The rabbit automatically struck back to protect her young ones.

I came to learn later that Joyce was attacked by her cow because the animal had recently calved. Her worker had been allowing the calf to suckle but on the fateful day, Joyce decided the calf would stop suckling and be fed milk from a bucket.

The cow was tethered on a rope. As Joyce was driving the calf into a pen, the cow hit her from behind. It was another case of the well-known maternal instinct to protect an offspring.

In the United Kingdom, cattle are officially classified as the most deadly large farm animals causing injuries and death to people yearly.

Cattle injuries and fatalities are caused through victim crushing, butting, kicking, tramping and piercing. A study published by the British Health and Safety Executive (HSE) showed that cattle caused more human fatalities than dogs over a 15-year period.

Newly calved cows topped the list of attackers, followed by uncastrated bulls. Third were groups of cattle that attacked people who were walking dogs in open pastures.

MOTHER'S NEED TO PROTECT YOUNG ONES

The study demonstrated that the number one reason cattle attack people is the mother’s need to protect her young ones.

The second reason is protection of territory. Uncastrated bulls are territorial and are likely to attack people who venture into their territory.

This happens because of the effects of the male hormone testosterone that creates the uncontrollable urge to breed, protect females and territory.

We occasionally see this same phenomenon in men but the expression is dampened by superior brain power, laws, cultures and norms.

Cows in the British study attacked people with dogs because of fear of attack especially by the canines. The latter showed an aggressive attitude towards the cattle by barking and attempting to break off from their handlers’ leashes.

In my experience with farm animals and attacks on humans in Kenya, the same reasons observed in the British report apply.

In addition, people have been attacked when they have tried to separate mating or courting animals.

I remember this elderly man who disagreed with his neighbour on the cost of his bull mating the neighbour’s cow and he decided to withdraw it.

The bull turned on the man, crushed him to the ground and ran off after the cow. When the cow’s heat ended, the bull went back home and had no more beef with the owner.

A kick from a cow at milking does not constitute an animal attack. An attack is when the animal makes a deliberate move to injure a person for the reasons I have explained.

Animals may also attack people to access food. A person with an open injury for instance would be ill advised to feed hungry pigs.

It is lost on many people that pigs are omnivorous and feed on meat when they come across it. The smell of blood or flesh may lead hungry pigs to attack a human being.

A worker once got cut on the hand in a pig pen in my presence and the pigs aggressively approached him. He was saved by his colleagues, who pulled him out.

In Kenya, as is the case elsewhere globally, there is shortage of information on farm animal attacks. Many people do not consider the incidents important to report.

However, these are occupational incidents that should always be reported to health and veterinary authorities.