Sunday 6th July - All 25 seen - Issues caused by misconfigured grazing area + Cow 212 has a small cut on her right rear leg + Cow 211 has lost her tracking collar

At 09:00 this morning, twenty-one cattle — including the seven Sussexes — were spread out grazing in the long grass and dense bracken near ///splint.joystick.basic. They gradually made their way southeast before turning and grazing back toward the track to the north. All were friendly, stopping to say hello as I moved among them for checks. After enjoying the lush grass, they began browsing leaves from the surrounding trees and bushes.

By 10:00, a group of fourteen had gathered near ///fork.perused.cries, close to the water treatment compound, where they rested and chewed their cud. Several enjoyed strokes and rubs while relaxing. It appeared they were considering heading back into Caesar’s but were unsure. Fortunately, Sussex steer 210 arrived about ten minutes later. After having the flies brushed off his face, he calmly headed up the hill into Caesar’s, with the rest soon following. The remaining cattle, still contently grazing in the pasture, made their way through as well — youngster 230 bringing up the rear at 10:30. The herd then split into two groups: one moving towards the covered reservoir and the other heading up the side of the compound to graze in the pasture to the south.

I noted that Sussex cow 212 has a small cut on her right rear leg — likely from a tree branch or gorse while grazing. It wasn’t causing her any trouble and she was walking without issue.

Sussex cow 211 has once again lost her tracking collar, seeming determined not to wear her jewellery! The collar has been retrieved and is now in the boot of my car with its battery disconnected.

Unfortunately, the misconfigured grazing area caused some problems this morning. When I arrived, youngster 230 emerged from the bushes southeast of the larger fishing lake. After a long back rub, he headed up the track to the east, near ///tell.cringes.cones, aiming to catch up with others about 100 metres ahead. As he walked beside me, his collar suddenly activated and shocked him. He attempted to move forward, but it happened again. Clearly distressed, I led him through the trees to the south, looping around to rejoin the others from a different direction.

While checking the rest of the group grazing in the long grass near the track, I found other collars were also triggering. It was awful to see them panicked and distressed without cause.

At 11:10, the group of four cattle on Caesar’s Camp were happily grazing in the pasture northwest of Horse Pond, near ///valley.pickup.voice. They were enjoying fresh grass growing among the bracken, with the surrounding bushes providing cover from the flies. All four looked happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

I also discovered a large pile of spent bullets near where this group was grazing — likely left from last week’s training exercises. I’ve shared the location and a photo with the MoD Operations Room.

The cows were all good today, aside from cow 212’s minor leg injury.