Farmers to face criminal charges over ‘bad’ hedging

Defra has promised “the use of civil and criminal sanctions” against farmers who damage wildlife habitats in a new consultation about Britain’s hedgerows. 

Formerly, farmers who broke the rules were punished by a removal of financial subsidies. They are now questioning how these rules will be policed, saying it is likely that it will fall to members of the public to report suspected breaches. 

Author and professional hedge-layer Richard Negus told Shooting Times: “New regulation is a dreadful idea as hedgerows are already protected by significant legislation. Plenty of what may be perceived as severe hedge-cutting is done under the Rights of Way Act and highway maintenance legislation, so a lot of the time a landowner’s hands are tied. 

“Uninitiated members of the public cannot be expected to understand what they are looking at when they see what they think is a destructively trimmed hedge. Cutting can often be the precursor to beneficial secondary woodland management activity such as laying or coppicing. This feels like another Government attempt to demonise farmers.” 

The new rules also include the imposition of buffer zones around hedges where farmers cannot spray pesticides, insecticides or fertilisers.