A WALKING group has called for farmers to install electric fences after a dog-walker was trampled to death by a herd of cows.

Vet Liz Crowsley - who was found dead in a field near Hawes by a holidaymaker on Sunday - is thought to have been trying to protect her spaniel and collie dogs after the farm animals turned aggressive.

But despite the tragedy, which has rocked the close-knit community of Gayle, The Ramblers and National Farmers Union are urging the public not to fear the countryside, while walkers are calling for farmers to copy their Swiss counterparts by erecting electric fences to separate footpaths from grazing land.

Miss Crowsley - a senior partner at a veterinary practice in Cheshire who lived in Warrington - had been staying in a holiday cottage in Gayle when she headed out along the Penine Way and onto land owned by Low Blackburn Farm on Sunday morning.

Police said it appeared the 49 year-old had been pinned against a wall before being knocked to the ground and trampled.

Sgt Jerry Perrin, of Richmondshire police, said: "She had two dogs with her and we think the cows were scared by these and trampled her. By the time the ambulance arrived she had gone.

"It is a very tragic matter and has caused some shock in this little community."

Leyburn-based NFU official Ken Buck, said he knew landowner Norman Iveson and that he would have been “devastated” by the incident.

“I feel very sorry for the farmers involved. They have been farming there for generations and nothing like this has ever happened before.”

Instead of warning walkers to stay out of fields containing cows and calves, however, the NFU has called for calm.

Spokeswoman Rachael Gillbanks said: “We don’t want people to be unduly alarmed. Tens of thousands of people are out walking in the Yorkshire Dales in the summer without any incident at all and it is important people don't think the countryside is off-limits or be particularly afraid when out walking.

“However, while cattle are normally very docile every now and again they might decide that they are not happy with a situation. That is potentially heightened when they have got young calves and it is heightened when a walker has dogs present.

“Our advice is that while dogs should be on a lead, if the cows do start looking agitated or a walker begins to feel there is a potential danger, they should let the dog off the lead and give the animals a wide birth.

“It is the dog the cows are concerned with, not the walker, so they should make their way calmly out of the field at the nearest exit. Dogs are agile and should outrun a cow.”

Area footpath secretary of the Lake District Ramblers, Peter Robin, said farmers should use electric fences to protect footpath users.

“Walkers have the right to use a footpath if their dog is on a lead and under close control but it’s a grey area. Cows with young calves, like all female species, can be pretty aggressive and the presence of a dog will provoke them.

“As a charity we are very synmpathetic to landowners. My personal view though is that it is not very difficult for landowners to ensure that any potentially troublesoem animals don’t go on footpaths at a time when they might be aggressive. Electric fences are simple to erect and will protect rightful users of foothpaths from being threatened or injured.”

In 1997 Guy Mackie was attacked by cows as he ran along the Dales Way footpath near Windermere with his dog. Mr Mackie, who was circled by the cattle after letting his pet off the lead, had to have his face sewn back together by doctors, his lungs drained, and suffered seven broken ribs.

And last year Shirley McKaskie began civil proceedings to sue farmer John Cameron for £1 million after she was was attacked by a herd of suckler cows while walking her terrier crossing a field at Greystoke, near Penrith in 2003.

The death of Miss Crowsley - who was described by her Willows Veterinary Group colleague, Simon Jones, as a “superb vet” and “much respected colleague and friend” - is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive.