We are delighted to have a herd of British White cattle here at Avon Heath. These lovely ladies are one of the oldest breeds in Britain, whose ancient wild ancestors would have roamed these lands many years ago. But they aren’t just a peaceful, pretty part of the landscape. They are also a valued part of the ranger team, carrying out important conservation work as they graze.

Conservation grazing

A herd of cows in snow, one cow with a white body and black face looking at the camera.

Free-ranging cows, like the ones here in the park, help protect the heath by eating the long grass, trampling the bracken, and disturbing the ground. This helps open it up for new seeds to germinate and provides bare ground for reptiles to lay their eggs. 

This maximises habitat variation which, in turn, supports wider biodiversity. Opening up the vegetation provides vital bare ground for basking reptiles like our: 

  • rare Sand lizards 
  • Smooth snakes 
  • Adders 

Their cow pats also provide ideal homes and food for a variety of insects including Dung beetles. In fact, each cow pat is used by around 1000 insects! And considering each cow will produce around 10 cow pats a day, that’s a lot of bugs benefiting! 

Grazing has been used since the Neolithic period for the management of heathlands and continues to this day. Our cows can reach areas that would be hard to access with machinery and vehicles, limiting the amount of damage to the fragile heathland. They are also fantastic at nibbling away scrub and invasive pine saplings before they can establish and outcompete the slower growing species. The cattle also do an important job by removing the tussocky Purple Moor-grass at the end of the season, considerably reducing the risk of wildfires as if left, the dead grass is easily ignited. 

Why our cows look thin

Our girls do a wonderful job of helping the heathland thrive. They might look a bit bonier than other cows, but that’s because they live much longer lives. Their job is to graze the land for conservation, not to produce milk or beef like most farm cows. Rest assured, they are well cared for, with their personal grazier checking on them daily to ensure they are happy and healthy.

Bull on the park

Horns on top don’t make it a bull; it’s the number of things dangling below that does! 

Two cows with ear tags standing in a field, looking curiously at the camera.

Keeping everyone safe

Our cows are very docile and used to sharing the heathland with walkers. They like to be left alone to do their important grazing. When you explore the heathland, please give them lots of space and don’t go near them. Keep your dogs close to you, especially when the cows have calves. Even though the cows are docile, they will defend their young if they feel threatened. 

In 2022, there were about 273,000 dog attacks on farm animals in Southwest England. Even if a dog doesn’t attack, just scaring a cow can cause a pregnant cow to miscarry her young. Our cows have suffered from dog attacks, and we have lost some because of this. We don’t want our cows to suffer. If you can’t be sure your dog won’t scare the cows and will come back when called, please keep your dog on a lead near them. Even if your dog doesn’t usually chase, they might get excited by new smells, sounds, or movements. It’s better to be safe than sorry.