In article , martin
writes
On Fri, 24 Oct 2003 18:23:44 +0100, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , martin
writes

If you google search hard enough and long enough you will find a DEFRA
.pdf file AFAIR that explains what action and against whom is to be
taken against those growing Giant Hog weed. In the case of private
individuals growing it, who refuse to remove it, a civil action may be
taken against them by the local authority.

That is if they are allowing it to be released into the wild.

No!

Yes!

Please read the Act and the commentary again:

Here is the Act:

"Section 14(2)
It is an offence for a person to plant or otherwise cause to grow
in the wild any plant on Schedule 9 (Part 2)"

The words "in the wild" refer to everything in that clause.

And here is the Commentary

"NOTE: This offence is similar to the one relating to animals (section
14(1) though it only applies to plants on the list and not the
non-native plants generally. The latter would be impossible as virtually
every garden in the country is stocked with mainly non-native plants."

In order to understand what this is about, it is necessary to read
Section 14(1), which states:

"It is an offence for a person to release or allow to escape into the
wild any animal which is of a kind not normally resident in and is not a
regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state or is included in Part
I of Schedule 9.

The Commentary is making the point that although it is practicable to
make it an offence to release *any* non-native animals into the wild, it
would be completely impracticable to make it an offence for people to
plant or release into the wild any non-native plants because their
gardens are stocked with them and releases and escapes happen all the
time. That is the only reason that gardens are referred to. They are not
being referred to specifically with regard to plants on the list but
with regard to *all* non-native plants making a comparison with the law
on non-native animals.

Thus if you take the Act and the Commentary together, they state that
the offence is "to plant or otherwise cause to grow *in the wild* any
plant on Schedule 9, part 2". It is *not* an offence to have those
plants in your garden. You must, though, prevent them escaping into the
wild, something which does not apply to any other non-native plant
though it does apply to all non-native animals.

--
Malcolm Ogilvie