Making moo-ves: The Highland cows available for cuddles in Yorkshire

Fancy a hug? There are Highland cows available for anxiety-relieving therapy in northern England, allowing stressed-out visitors to milk the opportunity for all it's worth. 

At Dumble Farm in Beverley, East Yorkshire, visitors travel far and wide, not to buy milk, yoghurt or cheese, but to have a cuddle with Morag the caramel-coated Highland cow and her friends. 

Fiona Wilson and her fellow farmers started offering the sessions in February when it became obvious that economic difficulties of modern dairy farming had become highly stressful, with a sharp fall in the price of milk and high inflation crippling their dairy farming business.

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"Some people like to engage with dogs or cats or horses and other people find that cows are the animals they want to be with," Wilson said. "People are coming for a wellbeing point of view. That anxiety relieving-ness of being with animals is almost like a therapy."

Economic hardship has forced farmers to leave the industry in their droves for decades. According to a House of Commons Library research brief, the UK had 196,000 dairy farms in 1950. By 1995 there were just 35,700.

Lower milk prices and rising energy, fuel, feed and fertilizer costs since the outbreak of war in Ukraine 20 months ago has been a nail in the coffin for many more. 

Wilson said she and her partners at the farm, who include her husband and brother, were working 14 hours every day of the year and losing money. Flooding in six of the past seven years was an added challenge, leaving the farm under water often for months at a time.

"It's impossible to live like that," she added. "There was just no future. We were just getting nowhere."

In January 2022, the farmers decided to diversify and sold off their dairy herd, except for five cows that they could not bring themselves to leave. "They were our friends really, with placid friendly natures," Wilson explains.

"We thought maybe we could try having a go at cow cuddling, just to earn a bit of extra money on top of our conservation scheme and also to engage people with what we were doing here."

The farm prepared the cows for months before inviting customers to come and cuddle them - and the cows appeared happy to oblige. "They are inquisitive animals. They are interested when people come down to see them," Wilson adds.

The experience, which also includes educational activities on conservation and sustainable farming, draws couples, families and cow lovers from across the country. The £50 ($63) per person tickets sell out months in advance. 

Inside the barn, dozing cows delight in having their chins scratched and their soft coats brushed by the paying visitors. Steven Clews said he bought the experience for his wife who loves Highland cattle. 

"I'm fond of all animals, especially cuddly ones, so being able to cuddle a big one is really cool," he said. "They are so easy to brush," his wife, Emma Clews, said. "I didn't think I would find it relaxing, but they are just so cuddly. It's very therapeutic."

As ideas go, this one is udderly brilliant.

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