Ragwort: is it illegal

[Garden Carpet]

Help please, My mother insists that Ragwort is illegal. By that she means that if you have ragwort on your property you are liable to fine/prosecution. I say (and i have read defra articles and British Horse society) that it isnt illegal. Ma quotes a program on tv with some vet(some time ago) who told of the problems and that he grows it on his property in the hope he would be prosecuted

My understanding is that if it grows you should reduce it.. but not eliminate it, it being a resident plant, and a food plant for over 70 species. The proximity to fodder and grazing animals denotes the degree of responsibily to the land owner/manager in removing the plant. Unfortunatly she is of the opinion that because I am as yet unable to find proof absolute that my belief is correct she will continue to believe the TV!

Please, if you can point me in the direction of a definitave answer I would be very grateful...as each and every time she sees this plant it is like a red rag to a bull


Thanks
Jaki

[wyevilla]

I hope not!! I keep a couple of plants for the moth species it tends attract.

[Suffolk-Chris]

Hi Jaki

You can find the information you need regarding the Ragwort Control Act 2003 on the DEFRA website at

Defra, UK; Horse gateway - Equine Topics

and at

British Horse Society

Hope that provides you with what you need to prove things to your Mother.

[Garden Carpet]

Thank you SC. I will print that off and show it.. she wont accept it though.. as it doesnt actually say it isnt illegal.. she is that sort of gal.

jaki

[Cotham Marble]

The following should keep 'mum' busy reading for a time .....

Ragwort Control Act 2003

Ragwort - Is it as bad as you think?

http://www.wcl.org.uk/downloads/2004...ment_FINAL.pdf

Note the legal provisions apply only to agricultural land - not gardens !

Under the Weeds Act of 1959, Ragwort was a 'notifiable weed' - which meant land owners were under a duty to inform the old Min' of Ag' that Ragwort was growing on their land. This fell out of use years ago and it is only since 2003 that there has been any operative Law regarding Ragwort.

CM

[cocksparrow]

Play this BBC radio program for her
BBC - Radio 4 - Nature 28/06/2004

[Garden Carpet]

Thank you Cocksparrow.. and Cotham Marble... excellent material... will print off and save the radio programme.

thanks again
jaki

[Neil Jones]

Originally Posted by Cotham Marble

Under the Weeds Act of 1959, Ragwort was a 'notifiable weed' - which meant land owners were under a duty to inform the old Min' of Ag' that Ragwort was growing on their land. This fell out of use years ago and it is only since 2003 that there has been any operative Law regarding Ragwort.

CM

This isn't true. There never was any such thing as a notifiable weed. There never has been any legal obligation to do anything about ragwort unless you were ordered to under the Weeds Act.

I have made an extensive study of the subject, spending many hours in the British Library consulting scientific literature. Whilst it is obvious that ragwort is poisonous it is not a problem. The problem is a hysterical and unscientific campaign against it. There is no question about this at all. The scientific literature is absolutely clear.

For example one French report I read showed only about 6 reported cases of poisoning in 10 years. The same is true for other reports. You actually see papers written about ragwort poisoning where it is obvious from the tone that they have been written because poisoning is so rare that it is worth writing about.

It you read anything from the anti-ragwort camp it is probably untrue. The same rubbish is repeated again and again. Now they are claiming it is dangerous to people. RUBBISH!

I recommend some pages from the website of Buglife- the Invertebrate Conservation Trust where they detail some of the dreadful problems caused by this awfully unscientific hysterical reaction and where they also debunk the false statistics.

Ragwort: Yellow Peril or Precious Flower?

Ragwort Fact File

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Neil Jones

This isn't true. There never was any such thing as a notifiable weed. There never has been any legal obligation to do anything about ragwort unless you were ordered to under the Weeds Act.

OK I won't argue about a redundant Law What is interesting is that many people "believed" there were obligations to both report and erradicate ragwort- I certainly grew up with that as 'received wisdom' in both horticulture and agricultural contexts in the lat 1960s and early 1970s. Only last year I overheard one of my very urban neighbours expounding on the requirements of 'the Law' in relation to a few plants growing out of a near by wall. Belief it seems is far stronger than Parliament.

CM

[Adam Cheeseman]

The vast majority of livestock poisoning cases (90%+ I've been told) come from them eating hay bales that are contaminated with Ragwort rather than the animals eating the plant in situ.
I believe it is an accumulative poison hence animals that browse on Ragwort and thereafter avoid it are not affected. Some animals eat it with impunity according the Grazing Animals Project forum.

Asides from Ragwort there is a long list of species that the Chief Vet body says should not be present in livestock fields and if everybody was a s concerned about those plants as they are about Ragwort there would only be grass left in many areas.

Cheers,

Adam