Horses grazing in a field of ragwort

[Copperpot]

Is this something you can report? Or is it not an offence to do? I go past a field every day at work. It has more ragwort than grass. Huge, waist high plants.

Up until recently there were no animals in there. Then a small herd of cows appeared. Now there are also 2 horses.

Would it be something to report to Defra?

 

[ChesnutsRoasting]

Is this something you can report? Or is it not an offence to do? I go past a field every day at work. It has more ragwort than grass. Huge, waist high plants.

Up until recently there were no animals in there. Then a small herd of cows appeared. Now there are also 2 horses.

Would it be something to report to Defra?

I would report to a local horse charity. Without wishing to generalise, the managers/owners tend to be a tenacious lot! They have the relevant contacts etc. Ragwort is one of the plants listed under the Dangerous Weeds Act but I doubt a call to your County Council will amount to anything.

 

[Polos Mum]

I reported a similar situation to WHW, defra and the council all at the same time - the one I saw had a foal grazing which was so sad. All I did was e-mail in and I never heard anything back, I don't know which one acted but within a week they were moved and the field cleared of the flowering bits at least. Just copy all three into the same e-mail

 

[Sukistokes2]

I would call WHW it is a welfare issue. They should come out and check and educate the owners. This happened near where live. The R S P CA came and then within a week all the ragwort was gone and the care has remained at a better level ever since.

 

[case895]

There is a large field near me which has so much ragwort in that it is yellow viewed from a distance. There are currently about 6 horses shackled up in it. I once reported them to the RSPCA. They did nothing and then phoned me the following month to solicit a donation. They got told to F O! Three of them escaped once when I was driving home in the dark, so I shepherded them with the car in to the nearest field - the Police HQ football and rugby pitches! Still nothing got done because these people are beyond the law.

 

[Copperpot]

Thanks for the advice. I will report it to WHW as am a member of them. The last time I reported something to the RSPCA I kept getting calls asking for money too!!

The field is not in my area as I see it when I'm driving my train. But I can give a description of where it is in relation to the nearest station, so hopefully that will be enough.

I just worry that with the lack of grass, the horses may start to eat the ragwort. Especially when it dies and is dry.

 

[Shay]

WHW and / or the BHS welfare line. RSPCA is sadly a waste of time...

 

[Dry Rot]

The local WHW inspector pops in occasionally to catch up on the local gossip and he tells me there has never been a successful prosecution simply for grazing horses in a ragwort infested field. I can see why that would be correct as it is very difficult to prosecute when animals are apparently healthy. Living ragwort has a bitter taste so horses will not eat it if they have grass.

If the owner/occupier of the land receives the single farm payment under cross compliance they have a duty to control ragwort and other noxious weeds, so it might be worth reporting it to DEFRA.

When reporting to DEFRA you MUST do it in the correct form with your own details, the landowner's details, location with a six figure map reference, and if possible photographs. You can get the map reference by using streetmap.co.uk. DEFRA will not respond to anonymous complaints, verbal complaints, or complaints with missing information and many seem to try to wriggle their way out of doing anything. The key is persistence.