Foraging for fungi is banned in New Forest
IF you go down to the woods today, be sure of a big surprise – particularly if you were planning to pick any mushrooms.
Foraging for fungi in the New Forest has been outlawed after commercial pickers flouted rules to protect the ‘fragile ecosystem’ that limited how much could be taken.
Commercial mushroom picking at the site of special scientific interest has been banned for years. But the Forestry Commission has now scrapped a loophole allowing individuals to gather up to 1.5kg of mushrooms at a time for personal consumption.
Edible fungi in the Hampshire national park include cepes, chanterelles and morels.
In 2014, the local Court of Verderers revealed that gangs were illegally harvesting mushrooms in spite of the commercial ban. Experts said they could make £50 per kilogram, with some selling the unlawfully picked mushrooms for up to £2,500 a day.
A Commission spokesman said yesterday: ‘There has been an increasing trend for foraging in recent years. Due to growing concern from conservation bodies and members of the community, the Forestry Commission is no longer permitting picking on any scale.’
The National Trust has already banned all mushroom picking on its land in the Forest.
Oliver Crosthwaite-Eyre, chairman of the National Park Authority, said: ‘ This is an important and decisive move because the New Forest is a stronghold for many rare and endangered species of fungi.
‘Leaving fungi unpicked means they continue to contribute to the Forest’s fragile eco-system and web of life.’
In 2006, following the commercial ban, Brigitte Tee-Hillman from Lymington, Hampshire, won a landmark ruling against the Forestry Commission, making her the only person allowed to pick mushrooms in the forest commercially. The four-year legal case was the first of its kind, and – uniquely – she was granted a personal licence to collect as many mushrooms as she liked during her lifetime.