A FARMER has paid tribute to the help of dozens of Islanders after his herd of pregnant cows escaped their field in Grouville and ended up in the sea, some 300 metres offshore, sparking a major rescue bid.
Reflecting on an “emotional” day which began with news of cattle stranded on the beach and being swept out to sea, Tom Perchard said yesterday that the 14 heifers successfully rescued were back home in a “remarkably calm” state after their ordeal. One of the herd from La Ferme sadly died following the ordeal.
Having been summoned to Grouville Bay – “I was in my gym kit and about to head out of the door to a physio appointment at 6.45am when I got the call” – on Thursday, Mr Perchard said he was taken aback by the response to the incident, both from those who had helped and the thousands of others who had followed events via online media coverage.
“I was taken aback when I sat down and read all the comments that evening, it was quite overwhelming,” he said. “When I thought about it, the Jersey cow is something that resonates with people. It’s part of the Island’s identity and close to people’s hearts, so in the end I wasn’t surprised.”
Mr Perchard penned a heartfelt response in which he thanked everyone involved in the rescue, including the fire service, coastguard, RNLI, honorary police, members of the public and colleagues from the farming community.
“I wanted to let people know how grateful I was – it made you proud to be from Jersey,” he said. “When the proverbial hits the fan, people step up and chip in and get their hands dirty – it was a real community effort.
“I’d have understood if the guys from the [Royal Jersey] golf club had been hacked off with cows trashing their course, but they were brilliant – running out with towels and generally couldn’t do enough to help.”
Exactly how the cows got out of their field at Clos de Roncier, around two miles from the east coast, remains a mystery. Mr Perchard said there was plentiful grazing and that the electric fence had been checked on Wednesday, speculating that perhaps the animals had been “spooked” by the wind and relentless rain.
While one heifer opted to stay put on her own in the field, the other 15 made it to the coast before the alarm was sounded. Mr Perchard said that 12 had been “walking wounded” while one had died and the remaining two had to be lifted into a farm vehicle after being pulled from the water.
“To be honest, I thought we might lose another one or two last night, they were absolutely exhausted, but they’ve been given electrolytes and antibiotics and kept warm, and they seem right as rain and remarkably calm,” he said.
Mr Perchard said his farm’s vet from the New Era practice had been at the scene on Thursday morning and had continued to monitor the cows’ health after their return home.
All the heifers had recently been confirmed to be pregnant, and will undergo scans during February ahead of their projected calving dates in the summer.
– The fire service initially reported that 13 cows had been successfully rescued.
