Galloway cattle

The Galloway cattle at Mr. Copfield’s farm are an eighty-five-strong herd shaped by life on the fells and by very little contact with people. Their toughness is both a practical adaptation to the bleak upland environment and the defining challenge of examining them: they are nearly wild animals, not a herd accustomed to being handled.

Herd and Upland Setting

The cattle live outdoors on the fells, where they calve and rear their calves with little human interference. They have scarcely been touched by hand, and none has ever been tied up. The farm’s sparse pastures and exposed, heather-covered heights help explain why Mr. Copfield chose a breed hardier than the local Shorthorns. In sunshine, the same austere landscape appears peaceful, but the herd’s independence reflects the demands of that setting.

The Herd Gathered for Testing

For a tuberculin survey test, the cattle were brought into the farm buildings, where the full herd occupied the available accommodation. About twenty-five stood in a passage beside the fold yard, twenty more were in an old stable, and two groups of twenty milled in large loose boxes. Gathering them together made examination possible, but did not make them tractable: approaching from the front or rear could provoke a charge or a kick. The test turned a routine veterinary visit into a difficult operation involving animals little accustomed to restraint.

The Copfield Brothers’ Handling

Frank and George Copfield had grown up among the cattle. They began working with calves when they were children and gradually took on larger animals, developing the experience their father relied upon when anything went wrong. During the test they entered the packed passage with halters and attempted to catch the biggest beasts. A brother could get a halter onto an animal and grip its nose, then be dragged as it bolted; despite being thrown about, the men held on. Their success depended not on making the herd tame, but on long familiarity and determination in the face of its strength.