Most grey nomads will have come across wayward cattle on their drives through regional Australia, and are well aware of the danger they can pose.
And, after several years of drought, there are some areas where the issue of wandering stock is going ‘next level’.
In Leonora, some 800 kilometres north-east of Perth in WA’s Goldfields, cows and even bulls are regularly coming into the town and proving to be a danger to local residents … and potentially visitors.
The ABC reports that, in December, a council worker was knocked unconscious when one of the cattle charged at him as he was closing the gate at the Leonora sporting fields. He was airlifted to a medical facility with severe concussion, but made a full recovery.
This cow has plenty of lush, green grass ... but hungry and thirsty cattle can go wandering into towns in search of sustenance. PIC: Cizza
According to the ABC, there have been reports of a rogue bull targeting a home owner who took issue with it damaging his car, and another incident in which a blow-up Santa was destroyed just before Christmas.
Leonora has seen several years of drought that has caused cattle from nearby stations into unusual areas in search of food and water.
Shire of Leonora chief executive Ty Matson told the ABC that it was a serious issue.
“It’s definitely something people need to be wary of, and as we’ve seen, the potential for serious harm to people is real,” he said. “So, we really want residents and visitors to town to keep their distance.”
He said that if you are looking around town, most days there’s probably 20 or 30 cows around the place.
“I haven’t seen it but I know there’s a bull floating around, as well,” he said. “These are big animals — 500kg, 600kg under the hoof.”
The ABC reports that the council is working with the three biggest stations surrounding the town site — Tarmoola, Mertondale, and Clover Downs — to find a solution.
Mr Matson said while additional fencing may be the answer, he could not say how much it would cost, or whether it would be the pastoralists or ratepayers who foot the bill.
“The issue is if we round them up [the cattle], they just walk straight back into town, so we need to look at a more permanent solution,” he said. “That may be a fence around town.”
It is certainly not the first time grey nomads have been alerted to the danger of animals in ana round campsites.
Back in 2021, a runaway bull has sent campers scampering for cover as it rampaged through the showgrounds at Murray Bridge in South Australia.
And last August, grey nomad, Graham Power, recalled the terrifying moment he was attacked by a big kangaroo as he cleaned a campsite barbecue.
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If the cattle are from a station in the area then it is there responsibility to keep them confined. If they wander in town then it’s open slather, cull them butcher them and the meat can be sold at lower prices to local residents. Simple really
May I offer a solution, the council could tell the cattle stations to control their cattle or loose them,. It would be a good source of revenue, lust pen the offending cattle and get a local butcher to process them and CRYOVAC the meat and make it known to the passing travelers that there is Cryovac meat at discount prices, and sit back and see the meat fly off the shelf just like it does at Bullara station on the coast. Near Exmouth.