Operation flying bull. Or how Charlie the stranded Charolais was rescued in a £10,000

[Snowden]

Operation flying bull. Or how Charlie the stranded Charolais was rescued in a £10,000 airlift by the Royal Navy, Coastguard and the RSPCA


By Paul Harris
Last updated at 11:39 PM on 03rd July 2008



This was no place for a little white bull, not even on a seaside holiday.

Trapped on a ledge more than 150ft below the clifftop, the waves were crashing all around and the only blades of grass remained tantalisingly out of reach.

But the three-day ordeal of Charlie the Charolais bullock came to a dramatic end today - with a full-scale military rescue.

A Royal Navy helicopter airlifted the stricken steer to safety after the RSPCA cut short a bureaucratic wrangle over who should pay.

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Stranded: Coastguards abseiling down to check on Charlie the Bullock realised they would need military help to rescue him

The 14-month-old bullock was duly cradled on the end of a winch and laid gently to rest in a field.

When it came round from sedation it was taken back to the herd at a nearby farm - doubtless with a tale to tell about the day young Charlie decided to walk to the beach.

The animal wandered off from the herd on Monday and appears to have headed straight for the sun, sand and surf of the West Cornwall coast nearby. Its destination, in every sense, would be Land's End.

Charlie seems to have lost his footing on the cliff above a cove near England's westernmost tip, and plunged over the edge.

Farmer Andrew Flower, who keeps 300 cattle about a mile away at St Levan, discovered the absence during a routine head-count. It should have numbered 24 Charolais.

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Striken: Coast guards bought the skinny animal food and water while red tape delayed his rescue

He only got as far as 23 - and Charlie's plight was discovered soon afterwards.

Coastguard station manager Dave Jackson had but one thought when he came across Charlie in the ravine near Porthgwarra. 'How the heck did that get there?' he mused.

Quite how the half-ton beast survived the fall is a mystery which experts could attribute only to luck. But the bigger problem, it transpired, was how to get it out.

Bullocks not being renowned mountaineers, and having rather slippy hooves, Charlie's forlorn attempts to scale the rocks ended in repeated failure. Hitching him to a tractor with a tow rope would simply have turned him into beefburgers on the rocks.

But the sea - brewing up a swell more than five times higher than expected - threatened to engulf him and sweep him out into the Atlantic.

So Mr Flower was faced with the dilemma of finding up to £10,000 for a helicopter rescue, or having the animal put down.

Farming being somewhat tightly budgeted these days, he was reluctantly considering a humane end for the bullock.

Its ordeal had made his 15-year-old daughter Samantha 'really upset'.

'I felt really stuck,' Mr Flower said. 'I didn't like the idea of killing a grown animal in that way but it seemed like the only option. Now I'm delighted. And Samantha is really happy again.'

Cornwall County Council and the RSPCA asked the Royal Navy if a rescue helicopter could be used, but the request got ensnared in red tape.

To the rescue: A Royal Navy helicopter flies in to winch the animal to safety

The Ministry of Defence said its primary role in air sea rescue was to save human life.

Therefore a cow-lift would be charged at £3,000 an hour, in an operation that could take around three hours' flying time.

Meanwhile in the ravine, Charlie was losing weight rapidly and beginning to look distressed.

His only food and water came from supplies brought down by abseiling coastguards.

Then on Tuesday, concerned for the animal's welfare, the RSPCA volunteered to stump up the cost.

Yesterday a 27-strong army of coastguards, RSPCA officers, fire crews and Royal Naval Air Service personnel assembled on the clifftop above the ravine to co-ordinate Operation Bullock, and await the arrival of a Sea King and five crew from RNAS Culdrose's 771 search and rescue squadron.

Here, they were joined by curious locals and onlookers, some of whom had stumbled across Charlie's plight while walking the South West Coast Path.

Catching sight of a snowy white, half-ton bullock flying serenely through the air was probably enough to compel any of them to give up scrumpy for life.

But the remarkable spectacle was completed inside six minutes.

Later the MoD announced it had waived its charge for the rescue because it was able to use the operation as a training exercise.

Culdrose said it had taken advantage of a 'rare and highly instructive' opportunity to lift a live cargo, in challenging circumstances, with minimal risk to human life.

Last night Charlie could be seen sleeping off his adventure in a field, back with the rest of the beef herd again

A happy ending? Well yes, and no. Because the next chopper Charlie encounters, of course, will not be one flown by the Navy.

Hauled home: Charlie is finally lifted off the cliff and returned to his herd

The Ministry of Defence offered to send a Sea King helicopter - but demanded £3,000-per-hour running costs.

As rising tides threatened to drown the steer, RSPCA officials finally agreed yesterday to fund the rescue.

It went ahead at Porthgwarra today, with the bullock lifted to safety using a net from a helicopter.

RSPCA spokeswoman Jo Barr said the charity had to put the interests of the animal above money but added: 'We are disappointed that the MoD has decided to start charging for use of the helicopter. We have always had great support from them before.'

A spokesman for Cornwall County Council said it had 'pleaded' with the MoD to waive the costs, adding: 'Unfortunately if the animal had been killed, we would be left with a rotting carcass on the cliffs, which would require a licence from Defra, and eventually have to be recovered.'

Cattle farmer Andrew Flower, of Roskestal Farm, St Levan, said: 'With the farming industry the way it is at the moment I could never have paid for the helicopter.'

He has been told that the animal must either be removed by helicopter, or put down humanely.

A Coast Guard team from Land's End has been feeding the bull daily by lowering hay and water to the precarious plateau.

Michael Mulford, who co-ordinates search and rescue for the RAF, said: 'We are here primarily for humanitarian rescue but we are able to help when animals are under stress.

'We cannot justify public funds being used in this way and these marginal costs are the absolute minimum we can possibly charge.'

The RSPCA has now warned farmers nationwide to make sure they can cover the cost of potential animal rescues - because the MoD won't pay for them.

Ms Barr said: 'Given that there are numerous farms around the British isles with clifftop grazing, the RSPCA and NFU would like to urge farmers to ensure their animals are safely contained and that they have suitable insurance to meet the costs of recovering livestock.'



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...rescue-it.html

[Woodmonkey]

I'm glad that he's safe

[Snowden]

It was quite a challenge. I'm glad he's safe too.