Interestingly enough, and I know you said you're interested in chatting about farming, cattle are in sheds during the winter and Anguses don't tend to wander from the herd. Surprisingly enough you keep them in enclosed fields during the summer so they'd rarely have the opportunity, and you wouldn't know if that happened during the night.
If you lost one they'd all follow and I can assure you that someone would let you know about it very quickly.

I think you must be thinking of little bo peep and her sheep or something.

In any case, I only had the farm after I'd retired because I was a very different kind of civil servant myself for a long time and then a lawyer before I endulged myself with what I thought would be an idyllic life on a farm. There you are, there's two more things you can question me on !

I don't think I'm thin skinned either actually. Perhaps you're over estimating how much I give a **** about the antics of the amateur sleuths desperately trying to prove that black is white ? It's an amusing diversion , that's all really. In a sense I'm perpetuating it by arguing I suppose.