Swiss region to shield tourists from ‘killer cows’

The move comes after a German tourist from Berlin was killed in 2015 after walking through a field containing cows and their calves.

The 77-year-old was attacked by cows grazing on and around the trail, who knocked the woman to the ground and trampled over her.

Now, to prevent a further similar tragedy, the Flims Laax Falera tourist region in the canton of Grissons plans to put up fixed fences along major tourist trails to protect both hikers and bike riders during the busy summer season, local tourism official Marc Woodtli told regional daily Südostschweiz.

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Those fences will separate tourists from cow herds containing calves. The mothers of those calves can become aggressive if approached.

The new protected routes – to be decided upon in coming weeks – will be specially marked on the region’s new summer hiking map.

Warnings about approaching mother cows and their calves. meanwhile , have been included in regional tourism maps for a number of years.

Hikers often encounter cattle on paths throughout the Swiss Alps. Attacks are rare but do occur, especially when the herd contains calves.

In 2014, a family of tourists were attacked by a cow with a calf above Davos, also in Graubünden and In 2012 a woman was attacked by cows in a pasture above Saint-Gingolph in the canton of Valais.