Cannock Chase put the Cow into Council

UK -

'Cannock Chase Council Countryside Service is unique amongst local authority countryside services in this area as the only one that manages it's countryside areas with the help of it's own herd of Dexter cows.

Unimproved, species rich grassland has never been fertilized, drained, ploughed or reseeded to make it agriculturally productive. It is special because of it's rarity, and the wildlife that lives in it. This type of grassland is just 0.4% of this district's land area.

Grazing provides a structure to pastures, meadows and heathland that cannot be reproduced by other management methods. The rich legacy of wildlife on unimproved grasslands evolved because of centuries of management by grazing animals.

Despite being a more effective way of managing land for wildlife than cutting the low number of working hours needed to graze cows in a low stocking way makes them very cost effective. Cows are a sustainable way managing land. They do not need petrol, oil and do not pollute and apart from an odd moo they quietly get on with the job.'

Related download - Dexter Cows Grazing