Shropshire vet warns of dangers to cattle from rubbish left by litterbug
A Shropshire vet today warned against the dangers of littering and fly-tipping on agricultural land – after a tourist photographed cows eating discarded cardboard.
Paul Ost snapped the cattle chomping on a discarded Strongbow cider box in a field in Shrewsbury.
Mr Ost, who was visiting the town from his home in Colchester, said: "I recently visited Shrewsbury for the bank holiday weekend. We have relatives on Bayston Hill and it is a town which I have admired all my life.
"But like so many of our towns and villages, litter is an increasing problem. I happened to be walking by the River Severn on Sunday along the Pigs Trough footpath when I noticed some cows chewing and playing with the remains of packaging which had clearly been discarded.
"Whilst it has caused some amusement on Facebook, it may be an idea to remind people of where our rubbish can end up and the consequences of not keeping Britain tidy."
Nathan Loewenstein, a vet at Shropshire Farm Vets based in Shrewsbury said: "Cows are fairly indiscriminate feeders and they will take down anything if it is in their feed or on the grass. They don't know that the shouldn't eat certain things.
"They will eat things like cardboard and plastic bags which can get caught in their digestive system which can strangle their gut and ultimately kill them.
"Cardboard with a shiny finish is likely to contain chemicals which won't be good for them. Littering and fly tipping can be extremely dangerous to cattle especially if electrical things are dumped."
The warning comes after Shropshire farmers last year called for a ban on Chinese lanterns which have metal frames that could be eaten by cows if they land in their fields.
