Cork farmer Peter Twomey is counting his blessings after he survived being attacked by a hired bull on his dairy farm in White’s Cross on Monday, 5 June. The incident happened when he was going to bring in the cows for milking in the morning, he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“I was aware there was a bull with the cows. I had handled him on Saturday in the crush and again on Sunday morning to read his tag number and I didn’t have any fear of him,” he recalled.

The bull was a mature, docile Simmental bull that had been well handled by his owner.

“I was just walking past the bull to gather the cows when he charged straight at me. Before I knew it, I was on the ground and he came again. I was lucky that he rolled me towards the wire and I was able to scramble under it and that stopped him,” said Peter.

“I do think that the heat might have stressed him, but also we have a lot of cows artificially inseminated already, so maybe he wasn’t the busiest bull in Ireland.”

“My daughter jumped into the pit and milked the cows when I went to A&E,” Peter said. There, he was found to have six broken ribs.

He told the Irish Farmers Journal about how his children are involved on their family farm and, now that school is finishing up for the summer, and all parents need to be conscious of what jobs they allow children to do around the farm.

“Maybe don’t let them go for the cows, find another job that is safer for them to do,” he said. “If the bull had gone for my daughter or our student they probably would have been killed. He’s a big animal.”

Peter spoke about how things have been difficult since the attack and that now that he’s slowed down to recover from his injuries, he has time to think.

He said: “How many farmers get to focus on one thing when they are doing something?”

“You’re walking down for the cows, you’re half-stressed due to the drought, you’re not even thinking about the bull, [you’re thinking about] if you have to collect kids from school, you’re trying to pack it all in.

“I’ve realised now, looking at my brother who’s helping, that he’s flat out, and the student is busy with the pigs, that I do all this on my own.

“I have insurance for accidental injury. I got it years ago through rugby.”

Peter explained how the insurance that he has “covers if you are out of work or you break something or whatever, so I’m kind of hoping that it will cover the costs because there is a massive cost.

“It could cost me €1,500 just for the milking for the month because I can’t do it with the broken ribs.”

The owner of the bull came and removed the bull from Peter’s farm the morning after the accident and the animal was sent to the factory.

A new replacement bull is now with the cows but Peter has changed how he is managing his stock in light of his close shave.

Steps

“We’re taking all the steps [to make it safer] by going for the cows in the tractor or the jeep, just to be safe, that I didn’t do myself that morning.”

Peter concluded by saying: “a dangerous bull has no place on any farm.”