Fight on to make sure weeds get the green light to grow
Law created with aim to protect agriculture
A woman from Maidstone has launched a campaign to have a 60-year-old law repealed to help wildlife.
The Weeds Act of 1959 was introduced to contain the spread of five species which at the time were considered harmful to agriculture or livestock.
The act requires landowners to take measures to prevent the spread of Broad-leaved Dock, Common Ragwort, Creeping Thistle, Curled Dock and the Spear Thistle with the threat of a £1,000 fine if they fail to act. Ragwort in particular is believed to be dangerous because if ingested by cattle, horses, pigs, deer or goats, it can cause liver damage. Sheep, for some reason, are less affected.
But Louise Butfoy of Cranbourne Avenue, Maidstone, said the situation had changed over the past six decades and the biggest threat to biodversity now was the loss of pollinators such as bees and other insects.
She said: “The archaic Weeds Act drives the destruction of native wildflower species so essential to the survival of pollinators and other wildlife. “Spear and creeping thistle are both rich sources of nectar; ragwort attracts 177 pollinators, and dock is an important food plant for many insects.
“Invertebrate populations are undergoing catastrophic declines within the UK - with pollinators among the hardest hit.
“The Weeds Act 1959 was devised when agriculture was less sophisticated than it is today and there was little scientific justification even then for the five native wildflowers it targeted. “Despite all the changes in modern farming practices, which have rendered obsolete its original justification, the Weeds Act still drives the over-tidiness and sterility of our rural landscapes.” Miss Butfoy has launched an online UK Government petition calling on the Act to be repealed.
If it attracts 100,000 signatures, the Government must call a debate on the issue in Parliament.
Within a week of launching more than 4,300 people have signed.
Miss Butfoy said: “So far, the Government’s ‘bonfire of regulation’ has been relentlessly destructive of the natural environment. Hopefully, this petition will begin the fight back.”
The petition is expected to prove unpopular with horse owners, who fear for their animals’ safety. It can be signed at tinyurl. com/weedspetition