It appears the individual escaped injury in this incident however, while such attacks are rare, Health and Safety Executive figures show that 18 people have been killed and 481 injured by cows in the past eight years, so it could certainly have been a lot worse.
It may have been that his companion prompted the attack. Cows are allegedly fearful of dogs when they have young to protect and attack in an attempt to drive the animals away.
So, if this person had suffered an injury could they have made a claim?
Well, unsurprisingly, you can’t sue a cow directly so you would need to establish who the owner of the animal is. Once established, a decision on the liability of the owner for the injuries would rest on Section 2 of the Animals Act 1971 and whether or not the damage caused by the animal was likely to occur, was due to characteristics of the animal which would not normally occur and whether those characteristics were known to the keeper of the animal.
On a side note, just in case you ever happen to find yourself in a similar position, the advice given to the individual, was to walk out of the river, waving his arms and if possible to do so whilst holding a stick – quite a big one, just incase.