6 Legal Framework
[/font][/color][/b]Under the Weeds Act 1959 the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs can, if satisfied that injurious weeds are growing upon any land,
serve a notice requiring the occupier to take action to prevent the spread of those
weeds. An unreasonable failure to comply with a notice is an offence. The Weeds
Act applies to:
[/font][/color]Common Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea)
[/font][/size][/color]Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
[/font][/size][/color]Creeping or Field Thistle (Cirisium arvense)
[/font][/size][/color]Curled Dock (Rumex crispus)
Broad-Leaved Dock (Rumex obtusifolius)
The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 delegates the
functions available to the Secretary of State under the Weeds Act to Natural
England, a Defra agency. This delegation of functions enables Natural England
to investigate complaints where there is a risk that injurious weeds might spread
to neighbouring land. Natural England gives priority to investigating complaints
where there is a risk of weeds spreading to land used for grazing horses or
livestock, land used for forage production and other agricultural activities."
taken from the Defra code for ragwort management and control
So, on a railway cutting in 100% arable land, it would not be an offence. Neighbouring ANY livestock or horse fields. allowing it to grow unhindered IS AN OFFENCE.
Poisonous garden I think we are all satisfied that even if every landowner in the country eradicated every piece of ragwort on their land, there would still be billions of plants in untended and unmaintained road verges, railway verges and other waste ground which would render the plant extremely common.
There is therefore no need to get into a 'pro ragwort/ anti ragwort debate; controlling it in livestock areas which will be for the vast majority of us the reality is (i) our legal obligation and (ii) not in any risk of wiping out this plant, which is frankly completely out of control.
Nor are our activities in danger of wiping out the only species which seems to exclusively favour ragwort: the cinnabar moth is rare despite ragwort carpeting the country: its rarity therefore stems from other factors than lack of host ragwort plants as based ont their availability it should be as common as cowpats.
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