News

Grazing cow killed in road crash

By Rebecca Connop Price
February 04, 2009

A young cow from a Hampshire charity’s grazing herd was killed on the Odiham Road near Church Crookham.

Three cows escaped after vandals cut a wire in the fence to gain access to Caesar’s Camp, the heathland between Aldershot and Fleet.

Alex Cruickshank, grazing project manager for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, has condemned the vandalism as "thoughtless".

The charity keeps cattle on the land in order to maintain the heathland there - which is home to rare ground-nesting birds.

The grazing area is surrounded by 6km of fence, which is checked on a daily basis by volunteers.

But the hole in the fence - which was likely made so the vandals could ride their motorbikes on Caesar's Camp - went undetected until Tuesday, which allowed the cattle to escape.

"We got one in yesterday with the help of local police," Mr Cruickshank said.

"But this morning [Wednesday], one was hit by a car and was killed. As far as I know the person is OK, but the car is not so well off, and the cow is dead."

Wildlife Trust staff had not known that there were two other escaped cows until they heard about the crash.

"We couldn’t find two of them but we assumed they were inside somewhere," he said.

Mr Cruickshank said it was a shame that the people who vandalised the fence had not thought of the consequences.

"Just because you want to go have fun doesn’t mean you can cut the fence and put someone’s life at risk," he said.

He added: "We have informed the police and they’re treating it as criminal damage so hopefully they can find out who did it."

Police managed to rescue one of the cows, which had escaped onto the Bourley Road on Tuesday.

Reader Jim Bailey sent in a photograph of the action.

He said: "Traffic on the Bourley Road was bought to a standstill while officers chased the cow along the road. The cow was eventually cornered and driven through the gated enclosure into the area where the rest of the herd was waiting."

The cows are now all accounted for and the fence has been repaired. Mr Cruickshank said patrols would need to be stepped up to prevent another accident.

Anyone who spots any damage to the fence around Caesar's Camp can call the grazing team on 01256 381190.