New cow-ncil employees are gentle beasts

11:48am Tuesday 24th June 2008

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MUNCHING on weeds and encouraging wild flowers are just two of the tasks in the job description for some of East Herts Council’s newest employees – a herd of English Longhorn and British White cattle.

The two ancient breeds have been introduced to Pishiobury Park, in Sawbridgeworth.

They are particularly well suited to grazing the rougher areas of semi-natural vegetation that can be found in the park and would have been used in a similar way there in the 18th century.

The cattle are a natural way of helping to maintain the park.

Unlike a mower that cuts the grass to a uniform level, they graze the vegetation at different heights and this is beneficial to a much greater range of plants and insects.

At the moment there are 15 cattle in the herd as part of a trial exercise and the council is hoping to increase this number later in the year.

Environment and conservation executive member Terence Milner said: “They may look a bit scary but I’m assured they are extremely well tempered and gentle animals! “They’re doing an important job in keeping down the weeds and the grass in an environmentally friendly way and they’re also a historically accurate addition to the park.”

There is a footpath into the park from Newton Drive or Pishiobury Drive and a car park on Bonks Hill.