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Scottish Outdoor Access Code


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did any of you experience problems with unwanted visitors (people, dogs etc.) on your pastures?

 

I've worked my way through a leaflet... but many questions remained unanswered. If I get it right a paddock or some other area round or near the house and/or stables can be properly fenced and the gates locked to deny access.

Talking about a fence I mean something like this (my heavy duty version of "keep the animals away from the roads and the people away from the animals")

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/8315/094jb.jpg

 

But what about ordinary pastures? What if they are a few hundred meters away from the house, surrounded by open accessible meadows and not obstructed paths? Does one really have to accept that some "stronzo" (sorry for the Italian word but the one I would like to use is unprintable) does not want to stick to the paths or to stay on the open and decides he MUST climb the fence and worry the animals?

 

What if the fence is built in a way that there is no access unless you have the key for the gate? Legal or not?

 

What about stray dogs? What am I allowed to do if a dog worries my lifestock?

 

And who is liable if my animals attack a stranger? Will a sign "no access - bull on this pasture" (even if it is an ox, most people won't know the difference) be sufficient not to be held liable in case of an accident?

 

And as far as I know Scotland is one of the few countries in Europe where wild camping is still allowed. Everywhere?! It can't be pleasant to find "droppings" of humans in the hay or silage...

 

Any personal experiences? Any advice?

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you really don't have to worry about hords of hikers going through your fields. but people have the right to wander and if they are doing no harm don't try to stop them.

if you have dangerous animals you are ment to post warnings but even then its there choice. your fencing looks very good and strong but it looks like it would cost a lot to make.

 

don't get to protective with the land you get if a neighbour is on it they probably are only trying to catch a stray. your future home has a beach nearby this may have access agreements. we have the right to get shingle and seaweed from our nearest beach but we don't own it or own the land next to it.

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I've worked my way through a leaflet...

The full text of the act in question is available here:

http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?activeTextDocId=910979

 

... but many questions remained unanswered. If I get it right a paddock or some other area round or near the house ...

The essence of the law is that responsible access to open countryside is a right. Land close to houses, gardens and such like is exempt.

 

But what about ordinary pastures? What if they are a few hundred meters away from the house, surrounded by open accessible meadows and not obstructed paths? Does one really have to accept that some "stronzo" (sorry for the Italian word but the one I would like to use is unprintable) does not want to stick to the paths or to stay on the open and decides he MUST climb the fence

That sounds like open countryside, so yes, stronzos must be permitted,

... and worry the animals?

... but not if they deliberately worry animals, that would be deemed irresponsible access. Loose dogs would come into that category too.

 

What if the fence is built in a way that there is no access unless you have the key for the gate? Legal or not?

I think probably not, but in any case I would strongly advise you not to try and pursue such a course of action. It goes completely against local culture here and you would certainly end up being disliked for doing so, indeed it would probably lead to hatred.

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your fencing looks very good and strong but it looks like it would cost a lot to make.

 

I am sure I spent more money before replacing wooden posts regularly. Those posts are granite and have a concrete foundation, so they should last for eternity. If you consider the replacement costs for wooden posts and the time you have to invest for fence repairs the granite posts (each was 93 € made to measure with the holes for the wood already drilled) are amortised after a couple of years.

The wood was free from the sawmill down the road. Electric fencing equipment was here already because some years ago I bought bulk cargo.

 

I'm not worried about neighbours because they would not be strangers. My animals accept people they have seen in my company before and don't do them any harm. To introduce the whole population of the island to my animals should not be the problem...

 

But they are very hostile to absolute strangers if they go inside an area they consider to be their territory.

In Germany I don't mind this behaviour at all because we had many incidents in this country within the last years when cattle (mainly horses but also cows, heifers, sheep and goats) were attacked, injured and even killed by abnorm criminals.

And we do have wolves again which cause big problems to herds and farmers are very annoyed.

This is why I am quite happy that some of the courageous ponies go after dogs and strangers. One of the mares even goes after prams (don't ask me why, she also kills mice) so it's definitely better for everyone to stay out of her reach.

 

How about liability in case of a nosy hillwalker who'd end up being a ping-pong ball for a playful ox?

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A difficult one.

 

We have a "walk" mapped out and my field is part of it. I do not put mares and foals in this field in case some well meaning walker decides to go and talk to them. The walk route is straight past the side of the loch where a pony is their most vulnerable when it drinks. So the likelihood of getting kicked if you are not a pony person is quite great.

 

Sadly in England & Wales, this was decided in the House of Lords :-

 

Due to a decision in the House of Lords you are now liable for any damage or injury that your horse does to other people regardless of whether you are negligent or not. So make sure you have third party liability insurance cover if nothing else.

 

In the case of Mirvahedy v Henley, the House of Lords decided that in the event of someone being injured by a horse, the Animal Act should apply. Under the Animal Act the keeper/owner is strictly liable for any damage or injury to a third party, whether negligent or not.

 

Prior to this case owners could rely on taking due care of their animals with good stable practice and management to avoid the accusation of negligence. This is no longer a defence and the owner/keeper is liable regardless.

 

Whether that applies in Scotland, I am not sure. Probably does.

 

But anyway, you cannot put up signs saying "dangerous animals" because you are admitting your animals are dangerous so you put up signs saying "horses" or "stallion" so folk are warned and take the responsibility of whether to walk through the field.

 

Horses is a difficult one because folk always want to pet and assume the equine is safe, nice and kind (and, yes, even backed! - I jest not!).

 

We try and keep our ponies close by but we have parks outwith our eyesight and I do know folk go in.

 

It is tricky.

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did someone lose a court case recently over some one getting attacked by a cow. they had done nothing wrong but still lost loads.

as frances says i think you must have third party insurance just in case. but on fetlar your not going to be swamped with people.

it maybe cheaper to make your own concrete posts. everything is expensive up here.

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But anyway, you cannot put up signs saying "dangerous animals" because you are admitting your animals are dangerous so you put up signs saying "horses" or "stallion" so folk are warned and take the responsibility of whether to walk through the field.

"Warning - stallions on this pasture" is a good idea, because there are 3 stallions running with the herd. Funny thing, the dangerous ones are not the stallions.

 

Horses is a difficult one because folk always want to pet and assume the equine is safe, nice and kind (and, yes, even backed! - I jest not!).

Hopefully our big one (the draught horse with a weight of 750kg and he will probably reach approx. 850 - 900kg when he's fully grown) will deter people. He is an absolute gentleman but most people are scared to go near him.

 

We try and keep our ponies close by but we have parks outwith our eyesight and I do know folk go in.

It is tricky.

 

Well, "near the house" might be an abstract term...

if one was to fence certain areas beginning directly round the house stretching into several pastures behind one another... some area should be covered which could still be considered as "near the house"...?

Perhaps this could be a solution?

I mean I am not talking about vast areas of land but only some hectares around (or rather behind) the house.

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Patzel, Shetland has a long, long tradition of people being able and allowed to roam the length and breadth of Shetland.

 

One or two strange individuals seem to have a problem with it but they account for about 2% of the population.

 

The other 98% are happy to let people roam provided they close gates, don't damage fences and just show some respect.

 

What you would be best to put up are some small signs saying "Horses - people enter at their own risk".

 

We don't want to see Fort Knoxes in Shetland with big signs saying "Go Away".....

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We don't want to see Fort Knoxes in Shetland with big signs saying "Go Away".....

 

Probably nobody would want that.

 

I might just be a little bit worried... when I was up we had to crawl around and climb hills to find two mares and get them back home to their owner's place (one was needing urgent medical treatment). This would not have been necessary if people had not left the gate open (although they had been asked by the owner many times before always to close the gates).

In this case the ponies were from the island and probably lesser at risk than my horses (and the other cattle) would be never having seen cliffs, burns and other dangerous places.

 

I just think it is a pity that one has to discuss things like this at all. It should just be taken for granted that there is generally spoken no reason to wander around on pastures if there are many many other ways round. For myself a fence (even a small one) means I am not supposed to go in there. It has to do with respect and perhaps being polite.

 

@Frances144

Feeding seems to be a problem everywhere in the world. At least now it's prohibited and last year someone even got fined because he fed fresh hay (not dried yet) in a riding stable to horses. The stupid guy picked the hay up from a field nearby and threw it over the fence because the horses "looked hungry". One horse died, some of the others needed medical treatment. He had to pay a fine, the value of the dead horse plus the medical treatment for the others. And in cases like this the Third Party Insurance covers for a start but recourses then.

 

Friends of mine tackle the problem now in a different way: if stubborn parents come and want to feed their horses they offer them chocolates filled with liqueur for their children. Most people get the message...

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not sure that would work up here. you may get done for supplying booze to a minor.

just chain your gate and either put in a stile or a kissing gate.

francis is the horsey expert im sure you could use your animals as a tourist attraction. horse riding around fetlar would be fun.

just get yourself up there and don't worry about the what iffs they probably won't happen. still i would not fancy the costs of moving your animals all that way.

have you checked with the goverments vets on what you need to do. are you in a blue tongue area. remember shetland is not.

make sure you know what your going to face when you come up. don't forget dogs and cats will cause you problems to.

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For myself a fence (even a small one) means I am not supposed to go in there. It has to do with respect and perhaps being polite.

I can understand people having such a view when they are accustomed to places where that is the prevailing tradition. I repeat however, Scotland (not just Shetland) simply doesn't work that way, and never has. It may be the case that when you have spent some time here you'll begin to realise the huge advantages of the Scottish (and in many Nordic legal systems too) way of doing things. Remember it works the other way too, namely you will feel the freedom of being able to pass unhindered over most of Shetland's countryside. I certainly think this is a greatly liberating feeling. It is also worth noting that the changes made to English land access law have moved it towards the Scottish model.

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