Reporting Ragwort

[HollyWoozle]

There is a field near to me which is overrun with ragwort - the middle is just a sea of yellow. There are 2 horses grazing in there and so I reported it to the local council who said they had raised the issue with both their Highways area team and their Trading Standards team. That was mid July but the field is still the same.

Should I report to DEFRA?

I feel petty about doing this - some years ago our field had some ragwort and I never appreciated the seriousness of it until I really looked into it, so I guess I'm not perfect on the ragwort front. In more recent times we have endeavoured to keep our field ragwort free as we now understand the risks.

My concern is really just the horses in this field. I thought instead about printing out some information about the dangers of ragwort and tying it to the gate?

 

[GingerCat]

You can report it, but DEFRA won't do anything about it.

Why not print off some info about the danger of ragwort and pin it onto the gate for the horse owners to see.
They may take notice

ETA..I see you've already thought of that ..

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Don't even go there!...................it's so difficult & time comsuming to try & report it's not worth doing. The process has got so many things that you, as the person reporting, has to do before reporting it to DEFRA that you'll give up. I believe it's deliberately made difficult & time consuming to make less for them to do. If I remember right you have to find out who owns the land & actually approach them about it amonmgst other things before DEFRA get involved.

 

[Dry Rot]

Don't even go there!...................it's so difficult & time comsuming to try & report it's not worth doing. The process has got so many things that you, as the person reporting, has to do before reporting it to DEFRA that you'll give up. I believe it's deliberately made difficult & time consuming to make less for them to do. If I remember right you have to find out who owns the land & actually approach them about it amonmgst other things before DEFRA get involved.

Interesting.

There is a four acre plot a couple of hundred yards from my land which is infested with ragwort. I popped a copy of the Weeds Act through the letter box last year, of course nothing was done. So this year I reported it to DEFRA.

I got a phone call from them asking for further details, which I provided. A letter followed agreeing that there was a problem and the owner had been read the riot act. The owner has since been away and the ragwort is about to seed. If it does, I shall be escalating my complaint. Yes, I'm the neighbour from hell but last year her ponies were so short of grass, they were eating the ragwort. Both the SSPCA and WHW are aware of the problem. The ponies have been moved in the owner's absence but I expect they'll be back, so we'll see.

Yes, it is a lot of work chasing the bureaucrats and they do make it difficult to complain, but in my experience they will do what causes them the least problems. I think they'll find it is easier to deal with the landowner and the ragwort because I am fed up with hand pulling and spraying on my land when others do nothing and I'm going to follow this through to the bitter end.

 

[Randonneuse]

This is Defras reply to my email from last week about the amount of ragwort in Cirencester Park:

"Thank you for your e-mail.
You can make an official complaint under the Injurious Weeds Act 1959 if you have asked/contacted the landowner and feel there is a threat of ragwort spreading where it is a significant threat to grazing horses, livestock and agricultural practices. An Inspector would use the following criteria before issuing the notice;

Common Ragwort

Land on which Common Ragwort is growing is within 100m of land used for grazing by horses and other animals, land used for forage production and / or other agricultural activities. No minimum population density is required to trigger the issue of a notice. The distance of 100m applies to any vulnerable land and not just the complainant’s.

It is not illegal to simply have ragwort growing and it is an indigenous plant. If you feel your complaint reaches this criteria please fill in the enclosed claim form and send to us. The complainant will be kept anonymous.

Regards"

Well I can't make a complaint then as no horses are being grazed less than 100meters away??
Or is it worth doing it anyway?

 

[Hoofprints in the Snow]

Around our way there are hundreds of fields full of the stuff it almost looks as if some farmers have it as a crop!!! I'm not sure if some farmers are being paid to set aside fields and therefore aren't weed killing them, but then again I see a lot of fields with cattle grazing in fields with it. I try keeping it off our land but it is a losing battle, but not one that I will give up.

 

[flirtygerty]

There are two large fields near us that are so overun with ragwort, it's hard to see the ponies.
The next field along is clear of the stuff (so far) I have been tempted to put a note on the gates of the affected fields and probably will, but people don't seem to care anymore because chances are they will sell the ponies before any signs show, and unless they are sold from the field, it's buyer beware.
It's a shame that horses are seen to be so disposable.

 

[muff747]

I have pinned notices and info from the Weeds Act onto several gates etc lately. Go ahead and do it, - this is what I wrote
"To anyone who knows the dangers of ragwort, this is a shocking sight to see your horses belly deep in this poisonous plant!
Please, for your horse’s sake, find somewhere else safe for them whilst you get rid of the danger.
Don’t be fooled into thinking it is safe because they leave the ragwort alone, they will have already eaten small seedling plants as they graze around the big ones!
A problem as big as this needs drastic action now, you are putting your horse’s health at risk and therefore if you ignore the problem and do nothing, you may be prosecuted under the Animal Welfare Act.
Get help and advice now, look at the pages here and find out what you need to do to save your horse a horrible death."
Last time I put this on a gate to a field, they have since started pulling it up. I didn't see any horses last time I called at the field but there were about 30 bags of pulled weed. They still had a lot more to pull, but at least they are trying. I just had to hope they had moved the horses and that they were not just out of sight.

 

[HollyWoozle]

Very interesting replies - thanks a lot for the responses! I think I will find some good information to print out and leave at the gate.

Several people mentioned this same field to me during winter as they were concerned the ponies had no food when there was snow on the ground (I went to check and at that time there was hay put out and the ponies looked in suitable condition).

I kind of hate to interfere but I had a pony who eventually died of liver poisoning and it was the most upsetting thing. I just feel for the animals so hope that I can do something to make a difference or at least try.

 

[Dry Rot]

If the owner/occupier of the field is in receipt of Single Farm Payment, they are required to keep the land free of injurious weeds (which includes Ragwort) as a condition of receiving the payment.

If there is livestock in the fields, they are also required to control ragwort under animal welfare legislation.

So it may not be necessary for horses to be within 100m.

 

[0ldmare]

There are 3 fields cut for hay near me. Two of them have a moderate infestation of ragwort, the third is pretty much all ragwort (more ragwort than grass This really bad field is public land owned by the Council

If you don't know where your hay has come from please, please check it carefully, as we all know dried Ragwort is palatable...and deadly

 

[pip6]

I reported an infested field containing some horses to the local council. I got an email acknowledging my complaint & heard nothing more. Have to say the ponies disappeared within a couple of days though. Not the ideal result (as weed is still there), but hopefully the ponies aren't in a riddled field anymore.

It may have been the council were looking for an excuse to get them moved as the conditions the animals are kept in are best described as borderline, & they get innundated with complaints about their welfare every winter.