Quote:
Originally Posted by Lynsey
Actually the law in the UK now is to control the amount of ragwort on your land, however it is not enforced very well by the councils. I have seen a cow die of ragwort poisoning and a horse suffering the effects. I personally don't see the point in taking the risk, my horses lives are more important to me than anything else.
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It is most emphatically definitely and certainly NOT the case that the law obliges people to control ragwort on their land. Please follow the links and READ the material I provided :-)
Ragwort - Is it as bad as you think?
and specifically
Ragwort and the Law The Weeds Act 1959
Ragwort poisoning is phenomenally rare. A French study involved deliberately poisoning animals (an awfully cruel thing to do) because they couldn't find any examples in the scientific literature a later study showed only 6 cases in around 10 years. They actually suspected that there was something different about the ragwort in France. There isn't.
Of course nobody wants their animals to be harmed but statistically horses are more likely to be stolen for the meat trade, a dreadful thought, than poisoned by ragwort.
All this fuss about ragwort poisoning may be leading to more horse deaths from commoner causes that are being ignored. It is really really rare.