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Why longhorn cows have been let loose on the beach

Phil Chapman,North Westand
Lauren Hirst,North West
News imageLucy O'Reilly Two brown and white English longhorn cows are standing side by side on a grassy sand dune in Formby. Lucy O'Reilly
The cattle have been grazing in the Ravenmeols area of the dune grasslands

A herd of English longhorn cows has been allowed to roam free to help restore dune grasslands on Sefton Coast on Merseyside.

The cows moved to pastures new in Formby this winter to act as nature's lawnmowers, grazing on plants which could become dominant or invasive.

The cattle were moved on to the site in November and will remain there until April as part of the trial between the National Trust and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

Lucy O'Reilly, conservation grazing officer at Lancashire Wildlife Trust, said the cows had come to Merseyside for a "winter holiday".

"This is a site that we haven't grazed previously because of the lack of physical fences," she said.

"So the virtual fencing has allowed us to open up new areas that we wouldn't previously have been able to have conservation grazing on.

"You'll see that all of our cattle are wearing a collar around their necks that looks a bit like an alpine bell.

"What this does is it keeps them within a virtual fence that allows them to graze different areas that we wouldn't be able to without with physical fences."

"It keeps them within a boundary with the help of audible cues that they understand when they hear that that they're to stop and turn around."

News imageLucy O'Reilly A brown and white English longhorn cow is standing on a grassy sand dune in Formby in this close-up shot. Two other cows can be seen grazing in the background. Lucy O'Reilly
The cows spend the winter grazing on the dunes along the coast

Whilst each species graze differently, this herd specialise in rough grazing, tearing up chunks of vegetation as they wrap their tongues around it and pull it out of the ground to eat.

This creates a varied grass height, and small areas of bare ground, which is perfect for a range of native flora and fauna to thrive.

Their large size also allows them to trample areas of encroaching scrub which could threaten to take over.

News imageJenny Bennion A brown and white English longhorn cow is standing on a grassy sand dune in Formby. Jenny Bennion
The trial is a joint partnership between the National Trust and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

Albert Peacock, ranger at the National Trust in Formby, said: "Historically these dunes have become over stabilised.

"This means they've had too much grass and they can't move anymore so we want them to be mobile and the cattle are helping us with that."

It is hoped this partnership between the National Trust and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust will continue long after this trial has finished.

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