Poor OH - and a legal query

[Weezy]

We have public footpaths out the back of our house that traverse fields - for 2 years there has been the odd cow in the field and thats it - however today OH took 5 year old son and dog for a walk - and some horses have been put in one field - thing is they are kept off the public footpath with electric ribbon fencing - now, whilst I know, you know, my children know that this ribbon fencing IS electrified, OH did not and on patting one of the horses touched the tape and got a shock in his hand

He is not happy funnily enough! His main concern is that people who dont know horses and the tape we use could do the same as him - especially children - so he has marched off with a sign to put up warning that the tape is electrified

Now, his question is, surely you are legally obligated to warn the general public that your fences are electrified (especially when they border a public footpath - I have never seen such signs but wondered about your views?

 

[Tia]

Yes they do have to inform you legally!

I had a couple of fields in the UK where public footpaths had right of way. If the field owner uses electric to fence off the footpath then they MUST attach those yellow plastic signs onto the tape every "howevermany" feet between each sign. This is the law and they are breaking it if they do not post.

 

[Happy Horse]

I can sympathise! I went to a show with Camerton and got a shock on my backside from an electric fence down the side of the ring - I was not amused - everyone else found it funny!

 

[Weezy]

Oh yes, I know those yellow signs you are talking about! Right will make some noise then, OH is greatly concerned that a child may get buzzed (not mine I hasten to add, after he did it F said to him "For Goodness Sakes Daddy, dont you know NEVER to touch tape" !!! He was not amused!)

 

[henryhorn]

I am pretty certain it's a legal requirement to have a sign warning of the electric fence on a public footpath, we certainly do. I doubt you are required to have one unless a footpath, let's face it, some of us have miles of the tape stuff!
Although I feel sorry he has been zapped it's no worse than a nettle sting and we and children soon learn to avoid them! Anyone walking their children through the countryside tends to warn their kids re electric fences and nettles before they touch them.
Try telling him about me holding a pony and openeing a metal gate the fence has dropped onto..our fence is mains so quite a kick and the shock went from the metal gate down my arm, across my body, down my other arm through the pony to the ground. We both leapt sky high!

 

[Tia]

Cute little F!! He is such a smart and calm little lad. Silly Daddy.

The thing is, if the electric is mains then a child could really be badly zapped!

Even the temporary electric units can give a heck of a kick too.

I think you are right to inform the landowner - he is breaking the law.......however check the distance between the *perimeter fence and where the electric fence is.....a footpath has to have a certain amount of width and if their electric fence is over this distance then they may not be breaking the law and it could be J who is if he meandered off the footpath.

*This is presuming the footpath runs along the perimeter fenceline of course. *

 

[Clodagh]

I'm a footpath rep and yes it is a lega requirement. If OH had a pacemake he could be dead now, so it really is seriuos that it must be signed.
Poor man, shocks are horrible.

 

[Weezy]

Oh dear he is making one HELL of a fuss about how much "pain" he is in *snigger* Men are soooo weak

 

[Patches]

We have electric fencing and signs placed at regular intervals to warn it's electrified fencing.

Not sure if this is a legal obligation but I guess in today's compensation hungry society, greedy Joe Public would use anything as an excuse to try and claim money from you. We have two fencers, a 9v and a 12v one, neither could do you any damage and I regularly touch our fencing to make sure it's working (stupid maybe) but it's just like a static shock we've all had at some point in our lives. Nothing life shattering or life threatening.

I've once been shocked by a mains fencer when we were rounding up three heifers that had escaped into a neighbours farm. His fencing lined the inside of a top wooden rail so wasn't visible. That gave a sharp kick and I did jump backwards, but again not much to shout home about in terms of danger to life. Of course, had the fence touched some metal, as in HH's case.....EEEKKK! Nasty!

We aren't allowed to fence ACROSS a footpath anymore. We're only allowed to strip graze parallel to the footpath so that Joe Public doesn't have to pass under/over the fencing. As our footpaths run diagonally across fields that means we are no longer ever allowed to use it for the cows grazing now. Not that the pesky walkers stick to the blinking footpaths anyway....although they think there's nothing wrong with that or letting their dogs off to pooh all over our animals grazing!

 

[Weezy]

Nope the footpath goes through the middle of the field - hmm I might go and get a picture

 

[Weezy]

[ QUOTE ]
I regularly touch our fencing to make sure it's working (stupid maybe) but it's just like a static shock we've all had at some point in our lives. Nothing life shattering or life threatening..

[/ QUOTE ]

It is a battery one and I just told OH that and he said "well it must have been higher - he keeps shaking his arm and screwing his face up

I did point out that children handle tape everyday but I dont think I helped matters!

 

[Tia]

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/content/index.jsp?contentid=860058706

This may help a little with the widths. It seems that 2 metres is the standard width given to most footpaths, but you would have to check at your local council office to find out precisely how this particular footpath is measured.

 

[Patches]

Lol...it's man flu all over again!

If your hands are wet it does seem to give a better kick, but even then, I would jump if I wasn't expecting it, but that would be it. Might tingle for a bit but not as bad as pins and needles for example.

Us farming folk are clarly made of sterner stuff.

 

[Patches]

Don't even get me started on ramblers!!!!! LOL

It's a well known fact they choke my pig!!!!!

Why is it, walkers think they have a right to either play frizby, football or let their dogs run fee off the lead on OUR land!!!! Grrrrrrr....they then plead "right to roam" when you say anything to them. Problem is, our land isn't governed by the right to roam policy!

I really should go and take my dog to poop on their lawns, see how they like it.

(Not in any way saying this is what you were doing Lou)

 

[Tia]

I have to say that the walkers over my land in the UK were really good and did generally pick up their dog's mess. I never used electric fencing to fence off the footpaths, I had post and wire strung up at the legal width limits as I was always slightly paranoid about the issues with electric fencing and the signs......insurance company said to me that by posting the signs, I was basically admitting liability!!

Even though it was a legal requirement to do so!

Hence the post and wire, LOL!!

 

[Weezy]

No I totally agree - you should see some of the people that walk in the fields - they go wherever they please, dogs all over the place (with NO decent recall!) - its absolutely incredible!

The footpath is well defined from years of use - the tape borders it and there is nothing like horses to make people stop and say hello! Anyway, lesson learnt for him I think!

 

[pixie]

[ QUOTE ]
Try telling him about me holding a pony and openeing a metal gate the fence has dropped onto..our fence is mains so quite a kick and the shock went from the metal gate down my arm, across my body, down my other arm through the pony to the ground. We both leapt sky high!

[/ QUOTE ]

Ouch! I've done that too

I was very embarressed at the time. What a shock though!

 

[Patches]

Eeek...my father in law has a pacemaker and a mechanical heart valve and he's still here after touching leccy fencing countless times.

We do have ours signed, even on fields without footpaths that members of the public would be trespassing on if they were walking through them

Perhaps you could answer a question for me...

We have one woman that regularly walks four greyhounds over our land. She doesn't stick to the paths and has been seen allowing her dogs around the entrance of rabbit warrens etc. If we attempt to remind her that she's to stick to footpaths we're met my snarling dogs running up to us and her telling us she has a right to roam.

So, are we legally allowed to tell people/have signs to say that dogs MUST be kept on leads and footpaths are to be adhered to otherwise we may prosecute for trespass? The times they'll cut fencing, open gates and leave them open when the correct footpaths are signed and stiles are in good repair have become too frequent. To say we're getting annoyed is an understatement. People just don't seem to view farmland as private land at all. Public footpath...fair enough...but the rest of the fields should remain out of bounds.

 

[Patches]

We would fence them off, obvious answer. But, we have one footpath that runs through most of fields so that's alot of fencing. Fencing it off would also make cutting the hedges more difficult and the stiles, hedges and grass would become over grown as they aren't walked enough to keep the path tramped down. Would cause us even more work as walkers are quick to report us if a bramble groes across a stile (even though they carry wire cutters and will then cut the wire to walk through the fence...but wouldn't dream of cutting the bramble down!)

 

[Tia]

Again we were really lucky in the area of Hampshire where I lived as the council took the initiative to install kissing-gates so that field gates could be padlocked therefore preventing any animals escaping.

Patches, if I was you I would contact the ROW officer for your area and have him come out and advise you.

 

[Patches]

We did! All he told us was that one of stiles didn't meet standards and a 60 year old wouldn't be able to climb over it.

Wallace, at the time 69 and with a dodgy hip, knee, pacemaker and mechanical heart valve, then proceeded to climb it twice in front of them to tell them it was perfectly safe!!!

Advise turned into a notice to repair pmsl

 

[Tia]

Ooops!! What a pain.

 

[Weezy]

[ QUOTE ]
Would cause us even more work as walkers are quick to report us if a bramble groes across a stile (even though they carry wire cutters and will then cut the wire to walk through the fence...but wouldn't dream of cutting the bramble down!)

[/ QUOTE ]

OMFG - I know you are being honesty - but I cant believe that! I would NEVER report a footpath for being brambly or whatever - thats part of the fun!

 

[Patches]

Believe me, it's happened more than once! Most people here are only honoury bumpkins. They walk our paths in trainers and cropped jeans! lol

We had one who called the police (I kid you not) as she had allowed her dog off the lead in the field where the cows were grazing. Dog ran up to the cows and upset them, cows chased dog who ran back to his owner! Owner was surrounded by inquisitive cows and panicked. She told the police that a herd of "wild bulls" were attacking her! Clearly very educated as she didn't know that udders = milk = FEMALE cows! PMSL!

We had to go and rescue her. Local community bobby thought it was hilarious!

 

[Weezy]

I am PMSL at that but I can imagine how horribly frustrating it must be

 

[monica123]

poot OH!

 

[monica123]

woops, i meant *poor*

 

[loopeepee]

[ QUOTE ]
"For Goodness Sakes Daddy, dont you know NEVER to touch tape" !!! He was not amused!)

[/ QUOTE ]

LMFAO! Go F

 

[burtie]

It is a legal requirement, a field I rented had a footpath down one side and I used to fence across it . I used to put a singel strand between the last post and the field border about 2'9" off the ground so easy to duck over or under and not part of the circiut. I used to hang a sign on it marked "This section not electrified" and then mark the next bit as Electrified. I never had any complaints and just hoped the horses couldn't read!!

 

[hairycob]

I've known a few who I'm sure can read that sort of sign!