All farmers are well equipped with electric fencing, which they use as a matter of course to confine their animals to a desired part of the field, usually for planned grazing. So if they wanted to, it would be no problem to protect the footpath. If an injury occurs, failure to do so could potentially be construed as negligence.

Having said that, walkers who let dogs roam loose are also negligent, and may make the cattle nervous of others and also aggressive- often to other responsible walkers. Dog owners- the countryside is NOT a free expression zone for your pet.

There are farmers who deliberately set out to be awkward- one local farmer usually plonks his hay feeder right on the footpath, resulting in a quagmire for yards around in winter. Others block off footpaths, alter signs, plough over paths and plant crops, dump heaps of out-of-date silage on them, string electric fences across them. These people are usually filthy farmers, their animals crusted with muck, their farmyard knee deep in slutch. The sooner they go bust, the better.