Cow-sharing scheme uses cattle to tackle Welsh wildfire risk
Cattle are being used to help fight wildfire risk on one of Wales’s rarest landscapes, as a community grazing scheme tackles flammable vegetation and restores biodiversity.
The Cowtan scheme, meaning Cow Fire, has been set up on the Gower Commons to increase conservation grazing and reduce the build-up of molinia, also known as purple moor grass.
The Gower Commons are among the world’s most important lowland heathland areas, but they are increasingly threatened by spring wildfires. Fires can kill animals, destroy bird nests and damage carbon-storing peat, while repeated burning can allow molinia grass to dominate further.
The scheme comes amid rising wildfire concern in Wales, with grass fires increasing by 275% in 2025 compared with 2024, most of them deliberate.
Penmaen grazier Emma Douglas said the increasing severity of wildfires was linked to the decline of graziers and cattle on the commons.
Cattle play a key role in controlling molinia, which becomes extremely dry and flammable in spring. But grazing the commons is difficult, with bovine TB rules requiring costly testing every six months and busy roads causing heavy livestock losses, including more than 100 animals killed in one year.
Ms Douglas worked with volunteers and the founders of nearby Community Supported Agriculture scheme Cae Tan to create Cowtan.
The project allows residents to help fund and manage a cattle herd on the Gower Commons, sharing the costs, risks and rewards of grazing.
Shareholders receive a share of beef at the end of each year and attend an annual community meal, while also helping check the herd, support TB testing and share responsibility if financial losses occur.
Ms Douglas, a multi-generation farmer, said the scheme was driven by a desire to show the positive role of well-managed livestock.
“It’s a passion project,” she said.
She added that the project was helping people who had never worked with cattle become more confident around livestock.
Ms Douglas said she also wanted to challenge the idea that cattle and other livestock are always harmful to the environment.
“There’s a narrative that livestock are terrible for the environment, so I made it a mission to display good practice to change people's minds,” she said.
The health of the Gower Commons is now seen as being at a critical point. Most of the 70 sq km commons are designated as Special Areas of Conservation and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Supporters of the scheme have warned that the complete loss of graziers could be “catastrophic” for the habitat.
The cows are among the few animals that will eat molinia, helping prevent the grass from building up into large areas of dry, combustible material. They also trample bracken and gorse, creating more varied vegetation layers that allow other plants, insects and ground-dwelling wildlife to thrive.
Ms Douglas said she had seen biodiversity increase in grazed areas, including heath spotted-orchids and devil’s-bit scabious, which is an important food plant for the endangered marsh fritillary butterfly.
The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales, which manages the commons, said the cattle “create a mosaic of habitats and opportunities for less dominant plants to thrive”.
It has recognised the “significant changes caused” by the decline in grazing.
Paul Thornton, Reserves Manager at the trust, described Cowtan as an “innovative solution to increase cattle numbers”.
“Cowtan brings multiple benefits - habitat management, people engagement, public awareness and high welfare, local provenance food production,” he said.
For local residents, the scheme has also created a stronger connection with farming and land management.
Tanya Nash, whose home backs onto Fairwood Common, has previously seen the area surrounded by fire. She now helps check the herd and described the work as “life-affirming”.
“I’ve always wanted to support local producers because I think it's important to keep our wealth local if we can,” she said.
She said the project had brought people together around a shared purpose.
“There’s a real bond around a common cause,” she said.
Despite the environmental benefits of conservation grazing, Ms Douglas said there was little financial reward for the work involved.
She is calling for greater government recognition, either through support with bovine TB rules or direct financial help.
“We really need the government to respect that and help us out, whether that's cutting the red tape around TB testing or financial support,” she said.
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has linked the rising frequency and severity of wildfires to climate change and land-use pressures. Extreme heat in June and July has also heightened wildfire risk.
In December, the service launched a Wildfire Plan that included using the new Sustainable Farming Scheme to “embed wildfire prevention into everyday land management”.
Research has found that moderate grazing can help reduce wildfire risk, but the Welsh government declined to say whether it would support conservation graziers.
A spokesperson said the government was “committed to achieving a TB-free Wales” and that collaboration between farmers and vets on biosecurity measures was the route to achieving that goal.
