National Picnic Week: picnicking with care

National Picnic Week runs from 14 to 21 June 2025. It’s a great opportunity to pack up your picnic basket and head outdoors to enjoy the British countryside and, hopefully not, the typical British weather. Whether you’re off to the local park, strolling along the riverside, or out trekking through the fields, a picnic is a great way to relax and reconnect with nature.

If you do choose to venture into the countryside, please remember that the fields where you’re walking may also be home to farm animals who deserve our care and respect. Ensuring their welfare and safety on your walk should be just as important as buying higher welfare products for your sandwiches if you’re choosing to eat meat, eggs, fish or dairy.

Picnicking with care for countryside companions

While enjoying your spread, being mindful of nearby livestock is essential. Here’s how you can have a fantastic picnic while respecting the animals around you.

Keep dogs under control, especially near livestock

Taking your dog on a countryside adventure is great, but it's important to keep them safe and prevent them from disturbing farm animals. Sheep worrying is a serious issue and can have devastating consequences for the sheep, as well as significant emotional and financial costs for farmers.

Always keep your dog on a short lead when walking near fields with livestock. It’s the law, and it keeps everyone safe.
Even if you think your dog is well-behaved, their presence can frighten farm animals, especially during lambing and calving season.
Remember that even seemingly playful chasing can cause extreme stress, injury, or even death to sheep and other animals.

Please don't feed the animals

It might seem like a kind gesture to offer a crust or a leftover scrap to a curious cow or sheep, but feeding farm animals can do more harm than good.

Farmed animals have carefully managed diets. Human food can cause digestive upset and health problems.
Feeding animals can encourage them to approach people and vehicles, potentially leading to accidents or them developing nuisance behaviours. It may even make the animals more demanding or aggressive.
Sharing food risks spreading diseases, not just between humans and animals, but also between different groups of animals.

You can enjoy watching the animals from a distance, but let them stick to their own meals!

Leave no trace, protect farmed animals from harm

A responsible picnic means leaving your chosen spot just as you found it.

Pick up your litter: Food wrappers, plastic bags, water bottles, and even cans can be ingested by animals, and cause choking or internal injuries. Always take all your litter home with you. Even biodegradable items like banana skins and apple peel can take a long time to break down and can attract pests or harm animals if eaten.
Shut that gate: Always leave gates as you find them. An open gate can allow livestock to escape onto roads or into fields where they shouldn’t be. And a closed gate that should be open can prevent animals from reaching water or shelter.
Keep the noise down: While enjoying yourself in the countryside with no one around to hear you, remember to be mindful of the animals. Loud music or shouting can frighten them or cause them to run and hurt themselves.

Enjoying your RSPCA Assured picnic

Choosing RSPCA Assured products for your picnic basket means you're supporting higher welfare farming, where animals are raised to standards that prioritise their health and wellbeing. You can check out where to buy RSPCA Assured labelled meat, fish, eggs and dairy, and also let your supermarket know which products you’d like to buy.

Plan your countryside walks

Being prepared is key to a safe and enjoyable trip. For more detailed guidance on navigating the countryside responsibly, including understanding rights of way and the Countryside Code, check out our advice for walking in the countryside.

Happy picnicking!

22 May 2025