"judith" wrote in message
...
Have others noticed how much Ragwort there is about this year?

I have noticed loads of it round Leeds and Manchester on the motorway
verges.

I think it's time an enforcement notice was served !!


http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/ragwortflr.JPG

Ragwort
Injurious Weeds and The Weeds Act 1959
Ragwort is one of five injurious weeds covered by the provisions of
The Weeds Act 1959. Ragwort is poisonous to horses, ponies, donkeys
and other livestock, and causes liver damage, which can have
potentially fatal consequences. Under the Weeds Act 1959, the
Secretary of State may serve an enforcement notice on the occupier of
land on which injurious weeds are growing, requiring the occupier to
take action to prevent the spread of injurious weeds.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/horses/topics/ragwort.htm



http://www.ragwortfacts.com/

and taken from same web site

Ragwort and the Law The Weeds Act 1959

Ragwort is mentioned in the Weeds Act 1959. This is what the Act says

"(1) Where the minister of Agriculture fish and food (in this act refered to
as ' the Minister') is satisfied that there are injurious weeds to which
this act applies growing upon any land he may serve upon the occupier of the
land a notice, to take such action as may be necessary to prevent the weeds
from spreading (2)This act applies to the following injurious weeds, that is
to say-

spear thistle

creeping or field thistle

broad leaved dock

ragwort"



It is a piece of legislation that provides for AN ORDER to be made. There is
nothing that says that you automatically MUST eliminate this plant from
land. It is similar to legislation which can produce orders for children to
be curfewed. It is not automatic but only happens where there is problem.

It is commonly claimed that this legislation forces landowners to control
ragwort or that it places an obligation on them to do so. as can clearly be
seen from the actual contents and text of the act this is not the case. It
is not unknown for even such august bodies as local councils to get this
matter wrong. This is the text of the act and this is what it says. The rest
of this rather short act of parliament is about procedure and powers but has
no bearing on the obligations and requirements placed on landowners in any
way. What is perhaps significant is the apparent almost complete absence of
this actual text from legions of commercial ragwort control websites that
have sprung up over the last few years. It is perhaps not in their financial
interests to let their customers know the truth about the legal situation as
it applies in the UK.

The Weeds Act 1959 has been subsequently amended by the Ragwort Control Act
2003. but this has no real effect on the information given on this page.