Last year I wrote a few blogs about a puzzling hedge (see here, here, here).
The resolution to the puzzle was that a farmer had driven down the road with his spray still on and had, accidentally, sprayed over a mile of roadside hedge.
I had a look at the hedge a couple of days ago and it is still looking pretty awful – I was hoping for much greater signs of a full recovery. These two images show the hedge – remember it was sprayed about 18 months ago so this is its second summer since being damaged – it’s going to take quite a while.
Perhaps this is a case where a Hedge Fund would come in handy!
Glyphosate based pesticides are taken far to much for granted, accidentally spraying with weedkiller is possibly an H&S offense under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, but not much chance of stronger controls yet. Hopefully glyphosate will not turn out to be worse than people already feel it might be, back in the1950’s DDT was thought to be so harmless they actually impregnated nursery and children’s bedroom wallpaper with it to reduce moulds, DDT had a slogan “DDT is good for me”
Since 2012 this is a criminal act.
The Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012 states that:-
“A person who uses, or causes or permits an individual to use, a plant protection product must ensure….that the application of the plant protection product is confined to the crop…or other areas intended to be treated”
Have the police been notified?
So was he fined for a wildlife crime?