What Do Dancing Cows and Zapped Dogs Have in Common?

Toronto residents are seeing more and more headlines concerning stray electricity hurting people. There have been reports of dogs being killed, children being zapped, and millions of dollars being poured into the problem trying to fix it.
Recently, the Toronto Hydro newspaper reported a story that gave advice to the public on how to protect themselves and pets from stray voltage. They advise pedestrians to walk close to storefronts, stay clear of street lights, walk their dogs with a non-conductive lease like nylon, and walk dogs when the street lights are off.
Stray currents do kill people. In 2004, New York resident and Columbia University doctoral student Jodie Lane died when she encountered stray electricity while stepping on a metal plate while walking her dog.
Though stories like that get plenty of national attention and plenty of money is spent trying to take care of the problem, rural towns are not so fortunate. Stray voltage in small communities, called ground current, affects plenty of farmers and their livestock, but hardly gets noticed.
Ground current occurs from several sources on the farm and off the farm. Some say due to an aging infrastructure and not being able to keep electricity flowing along the wires, utility companies are allowing it to flow on the ground. Animals that come into contact with this ground current suffer negative consequences over time-even death. It is basically a slow electrocution.
It has been reported that cows that are exposed to ground current suffer from swollen joints, sores that won’t heal, and they continually lift their feet (dance) in an effort to cut the flow of electricity going into their bodies. This affects their ability to produce milk and has negative effects in general in their well-being.
Hydro One newspaper in Ontario is committed to doing their part in bringing attention to such problems. Feel free to check out their website, as they have information for farmers that believe their livestock may be experiencing ground current.