Posted on Monday 8th November 2021
The small herd of Hereford cattle prepares to leave Moors Gorse after the successful conservation grazing.
Grazing cattle have been removed from Cannock Chase after the successful completion of a conservation project’s first phase.
A small herd of Hereford cattle have been grazing 25 hectares at Moors Gorse during the latter part of the summer to manage vegetation in an environmentally friendly way.
The cattle have now been moved to their winter quarters and will return in the spring.
Victoria Wilson, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Communities and Culture, said:
Cannock Chase is home to rare plants and species of national and international importance and grazing is a recognised way of maintaining and protecting them by stopping the growth of the bracken, trees and scrubland which would drive them out.
There’s been a lot of interest locally in this initiative and our rangers on the ground are very pleased by how it’s gone.”
Part of the project also included the installation of a perimeter fence which would allow other animals such as deer to pass through but keep the cattle within.
Motion-activated cameras were installed at several locations where animal runs passed through the fence to check there were no problems.
And film footage shows fallow and muntjac deer, a fox and other wildlife passing back and forth through the new fencing without issue.
Victoria Wilson added:
The cattle spent the first few weeks in the smaller top area of the site getting used to their surroundings and the location of the water supply.
There’s a footpath nearby so many of the regular dog walkers were asking staff about them and checking them every day and people have started to notice the overgrown vegetation slowly being opened up by the animals grazing.
After a while we let them graze the whole area and sometimes people wouldn’t see them – but they have noticed that large patches of bracken and bramble that have been trampled and opened up to show the rare heathland plants that were struggling beneath.”
Gates have been placed where informal paths cross the grazing area and next year, as part of the project a GPS system will be trialled to manage the cattle’s movement within the site.