code of practice on hopw to prevent the spread of ragwort - Defra

Appendix 10 – Environmental appraisal
Objectives <strong>of</strong> the Code <strong>of</strong> Practice and what it is seeking
to achieve
1 The objective <strong>of</strong> the Code <strong>of</strong> Practice is to reduce significantly, through good
<strong>practice</strong>, the risk that horses and livestock might be poisoned by ragwort. The
Code seeks to achieve this by providing comprehensive guidance to horse owners
and land managers on how to prevent the spread <strong>of</strong> Common Ragwort (Senecio
jacobaea) where it poses a significant risk to horses, livestock or fields used
for the production <strong>of</strong> feed and forage. The Code does not seek to eradicate or
indiscriminately control the growth <strong>of</strong> Common Ragwort, and recognises the
practical and resource difficulties <strong>of</strong> controlling it. Control is only recommended
in those circumstances where there is a specific threat to animal welfare.
Evidence <strong>of</strong> the need to take control action
2 Common Ragwort is one <strong>of</strong> five injurious weeds specified under the Weeds Act
1959. Under the Act, the Secretary <strong>of</strong> State for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs has a discretionary power to serve a notice on an occupier <strong>of</strong> land on
which one or more <strong>of</strong> the injurious weeds is growing requiring the occupier to
take action to prevent the spread <strong>of</strong> those weeds. An unreasonable failure to
comply with such a notice is an <strong>of</strong>fence. The vast majority <strong>of</strong> complaints about
injurious weeds, (at least 90%), investigated by Defra concern ragwort, and the
numbers have increased steadily year on year. In 2001 there were 105, in 2002
there were 160, and in 2003 there were 318 cases respectively. (The figure for
2003 is estimated) Defra has limited resources to investigate complaints about
injurious weeds. The Code <strong>of</strong> Practice should encourage better land management
to prevent the establishment <strong>of</strong> ragwort, and a greater awareness <strong>of</strong> when and
where it is necessary to take control action, as well as providing guidance on the
most appropriate control methods for the particular circumstances.
3 Common Ragwort contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are poisonous to
horses and other animals, such as sheep and cattle. With the exception <strong>of</strong> sheep,
in most situations, grazing animals do not readily eat growing ragwort. Ingestion
<strong>of</strong> ragwort, either in its green or dried state, causes cumulative liver damage,
which can have fatal consequences. In its dried state, particularly in hay or
other conserved forage, ragwort is less likely to be rejected by livestock and may
present a greater risk than ragwort in its natural state. Horses appear to be more
susceptible to ragwort poisoning than other animals. The International League
for the Protection <strong>of</strong> Horses has estimated that the number <strong>of</strong> horses has doubled
during the last 15 years, which is mirrored by an increasing number <strong>of</strong> horse
owners with concerns about the spread <strong>of</strong> ragwort.
4 The scale and extent <strong>of</strong> illness and death in animals through ragwort poisoning
is difficult to determine, as an autopsy would be required in every case to confirm
the exact cause <strong>of</strong> death. There is no current test available to diagnose accurately
whether an animal is suffering from ragwort poisoning, and certainly no test to
help determine whether any such poisoning relates to ingestion <strong>of</strong> conserved or
live ragwort. Dr Derek Knottenbelt at Liverpool University is carrying out research
to establish a blood test to detect ragwort poisoning in horses. He has estimated
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