A TikTok of Highland Cow Cuddling at Baslow Edge sparks Highland Cow Experience to launch national campaign!

For Coo Campaign - Call out irresponsible countryside visitors who try to touch Highland Cows and other livestock
Please download and share the image on any video where people shouldn’t be touching highland cows

After a spate of irresponsible TikTok creators have reels showing people invading the Highland Cows' personal space and randomly touching the coos, with parents even lifting toddlers over a wall to let the young children run through the field of cows at the farm in Sheffield. As well as Cow Cuddling at Baslow Edge!

Anyone visiting the Peak District who would like to get better acquainted with a highland cow can do so in a professionally supervised session, a short drive away at Highland Cows of the Peak, which runs Highland Cattle Experiences at Whirlow Hall Farm, Sheffield.

We asked The Highland Cattle Society to issue a warning, reminding people of the dangers cattle can pose

“We are receiving a huge number of concerns from members who have witnessed members of the public & tourists jump into farmers’ fields, take selfies with cattle, and even sit on the cattle.

Highland cattle might look gentle, but they’re powerful animals — and especially protective when calving or when young calves are on the ground.

Please don’t enter farmers’ fields or approach them for selfies; they are not selfie props.

It puts you at risk and causes stress to the cattle, particularly mothers who will defend their calves without hesitation.

If you want a close-up experience, visit an organised Highland cattle event run by experienced breeders where safety and welfare come first.”

For more details, visit www.highlandcowsofthepeak.co.uk

Highland Cows of the Peak has launched a national campaign to remind people how to behave around cattle and issued the following statement along with the above poster, which it encourages people to share on videos or photos where people aren’t behaving safely around livestock:

“Please do not approach or touch Highland Cows (any livestock) without the owner’s permission.

If you would like to get hands-on with Highland Cows, then please come to an experienced Highland Cow breeder such as ourselves.”

Countryside Code for Dog Walkers

Always walk calmly, keep your pet on a short lead and at a safe distance from livestock. The only exception is if you are being chased or charged at, then let the dog off the lead. It's usually the dog they see as a threat rather than you, and most dogs can easily outrun a cow, but the majority of us humans cannot!

Please do not allow your dogs to get close to the cows, as accidents could occur that may cause injury to yourself, your dog, the cows or unborn calves, as some may be pregnant!

Please remember to bring poo bags and clean up after your dog. Dog faeces can cause serious diseases and even miscarriage in livestock through the contamination of grass and water.

The Peak District National Park Authority has also released a fresh warning to its visitors, advising them to steer clear of cows amid a wave of social media videos showing people hugging Highland cattle.

As previously reported, cattle grazing near Baslow Edge have become something of a tourist attraction in recent years, with many passers-by seeing the shaggy-haired fold as photogenic subjects for holiday snaps.

But the arrival of spring has brought a new wave of TikTok and Instagram videos of people getting too close for comfort, in some cases lying down next to the cattle to cuddle and stroke them – likely encouraging a stampede of social media sheep to follow suit.

In response, PDNPA has reminded visitors about the dangers of interacting with unpredictable animals.

A spokesperson said: “The Peak District National Park Authority warns against getting close, feeding, or taking selfies with cows.

“Hugging cows – the new craze recently seen on TikTok - should be avoided as it is highly dangerous due to the risk of being trampled, charged, or attacked, especially when cows have calves.”

"Mingling with the cows is not only potentially dangerous, but it can also cause major headaches for farmers.

Highland Cow Cuddling at Baslow Edge TikTok Craze

Whether it’s the MaHuRuCo Fold in Sheffield or the Baslow Fold of Highland Cows, it seems like people have forgotten about the health and safety issue at Baslow in 2019, which resulted in the whole herd having to be moved, with lots culled.

In 2019, Alex Birch was forced to slaughter many of the cattle after a member of the public complained to the Health and Safety Executive that they had behaved aggressively towards a dog on a lead, and in 2024, another report led the RSPCA to closely scrutinise the farm’s practices.

N.B. The Highland Cows at Baslow Edge are wild farm animals owned by Gorse Bank Farm.
These free-roaming animals help to maintain the moors naturally and are not for general petting. Do not feed them; you could make them ill.
If you would like to get up close and personal with Highland Cows, who you can safely pet, brush and photograph, then please book one of our hands-on experiences - Peak District Highland Cow Experience

For the safety and the future of the cows, and the public visiting their home on Baslow Edge, please give them plenty of space and don't just casually walk up to them and stroke them or try to feed them, keep at a safe distance and make sure you're aware of your surroundings and try not to put yourself between a cow and their calf or a wall.

For Coo Campaign - Call out irresponsible countryside visitors who approach Highland Cows and other livestock