Ragwort Control Act is now Law!
The British Horse Society initiated Ragwort Control Bill has finally completed its journey through Parliament, receiving Royal Assent on 20th November, 2003 and came into force in England & Wales on the 20th February, 2004, making horses safer from the threat of ragwort poisoning. The new Ragwort Control Act amends the Weeds Act 1959 and promotes the more efficient control of Common Ragwort, one of the five injurious weeds specified in the Weeds Act which poses a risk to animal health (Common Ragwort, Spear Thistle, Creeping Field Thistle, Broad Leaved Dock and Curled Dock). This should make a real difference, as landowners will now need to act when they find ragwort on their land and prevent the spread of this weed. This Act enabled the Secretary of State to create a Code of Practice to prevent the spread of Ragwort and provide guidance to all landowners, land managers and occupiers enabling them to develop a strategic and cost effective approach to weed control and to strike the right balance between the protection of animal welfare and the need to preserve bio-diversity within the countryside. Heavily infested neighbouring land has always posed a threat of seed invasion and where gentle persuasion proves ineffective the act has an important feature in that the code will also be admissible in evidence, if enforcement proceedings under the Weeds Act are necessary.
Full information can be found on the DEFRA website www.defra.gov.uk
You can visit the BHS web for full information and/or contact the BHS Media & Public Liaison Office on Tel: 08701 208880 Email: media@bhs.org.uk
You may also be interested to know that the BHS have two new leaflets which you can obtain FREE.
'A Guide to Ragwort' for Horse Owners and 'A Guide to Ragwort for Landowners and Occupiers'
Send them an A5 sae to the BHS, Welfare Dept, Stoneleigh Deer Park, Kenilworth, Wark. CV8 2XZ, marking the envelope with the leaflet of your choice.
