Stop ragwort and other harmfulinjurious weeds from spreading

HarmfulInjurious weeds,weeds also known as injurious weeds, are native to the UKUK, contribute to biodiversity and contributeare of great importance to biodiversity.pollinators. 

SomeHowever, harmfulsome weeds are poisonous to animals, or can damage crops if they spread.

The 5 injurious weeds stated in the 1959 Weeds Act are:

• Common Ragwort
• Spear Thistle
• Field Thistle
• Curled Dock
• Broad-Leaved Dock

Find out how to identify these harmful weeds.

Stop harmful weeds spreading to agricultural land

You can have harmfulinjurious weeds growing on your land, but you should stop them spreading on to agricultural land that’s used for either: for:

• keeping or grazing horses and other livestock  livestock
• producing hay or silage for livestock livestock
• other agricultural activities  activities

You may have to pay back costs associated with clearing the weeds if you do not clear them yourself when Natural England asks you to.

Prevent ragwort spreading

Read the Code of Practice on How to Prevent the Spread of Ragwort to understand how to control ragwort. If you can show you have adopted control measures which comply with the guidance in the code of practice, this can help you avoid fines under the Weeds Act 1959.

Control harmfulinjurious weeds

You should control harmfulinjurious weeds on your land so they do not spread to agricultural land.

If your land is a protected site, you may need permission before you use some control methods.

The Weed Control Handbook: Guidance on the use of herbicides on nature conservation sites provides guidance on sustainable weed control methods.

Find out how to spray plants with chemicals in the Stop invasive non-native plants from spreading guide if you want to control weeds with herbicides.

Control methods

You can control weeds by using a combination of:

• spraying or wiping the plants with chemicals
• pulling or digging out live, dead or dying plants
• cutting back plants to prevent the seeds dispersing
• burning plants using a spot burner
• managing livestock so they do not overgraze and create bare areas where weeds can grow

Dispose of harmful weeds to stop them spreading

You should not let seeds spread or put grazing animals at risk when you dispose of harmfulthe relevant weeds.

On-site disposal of harmfulinjurious weeds

You can dispose of small quantities of weeds by letting it rot down on site. You should put it in a container with a lid, such as a rigid compost bin, to prevent seeds dispersing.

You should use an on-site biomass facility or incinerator to dispose of larger quantities of weeds. You must have an environmental permit to do this.

Off-site disposal of harmfulinjurious weeds

If you burn or dispose of harmful weeds off site, you must:

• use a registered waste carrier to remove waste
• make sure that waste is disposed of at an appropriate site – find out by checking with the site directly, asking your local authority or check the Environment Agency public register

If you use a site which is not permitted to dispose of waste, you could be fined or go to prison.

Prevent animals eating harmfulinjurious weeds

Some harmfulinjurious weeds are poisonous to animals if they eat them.

Animals most at risk are:

• horses
• ponies
• grazing livestock, such as cattle and sheep

If you own horses, ponies or livestock you must not allow them to graze on land where you know ragwort is present.

You can be prosecuted if you allow animals to suffer by eating harmful weeds.

Report welfare concerns

If you’re a member of the public and you see harmfulinjurious weeds growing where horses, ponies or livestock are grazing, you can report this to the:

• Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)(APHA)
• Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)(RSPCA)
• British Horse Society (BHS)(BHS)

Reporting harmfulinjurious weeds

You can ask Natural England to acttake ifaction injuriouswhere weeds:you have evidence that: 

• have

  the spreadsituation tois agriculturalextensive land

• arerather than localised, meaning at highwhole riskholding oflevel spreadingor –above - this usuallyevidence meanscould they’reinclude growingphotos

• injurious withinweeds 50have metresspread ofwidely onto agricultural land

Beforeland, youmeaning contactmore Naturalthan England,10 youharmful shouldweeds askin one square metre - this evidence could include photos

the responsible landowner has failed to act despite asking them to remove the weeds.weeds - this evidence could include copies of letters or emails

When you cannot complain to Natural England

You cannot make a complaint:

• about non-native weeds such as Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam and Giant Hogweed
• about injurious weeds spreading to non-agricultural land, such as private gardens or allotments
• if weedsyou aredo growingnot morehave than 100 metres from agricultural land
• if horses or livestock are on the landevidence whereset injuriousout weeds are growingabove

If horses or livestock are on the land where injurious weeds are, and you are concerned for their welfare, contact the RSPCA,RSPCA, BritishBHS, Horse Society or AnimalAPHA, & Health Plant Health Agency (APHA), who have animal welfare officers and may investigate: investigate:

• RSPCA: RSPCA: 0300 1234 555
• British BHS: Horse Society: 02476 840500840 500
• Animal APHA: & Health Plant Health Agency (APHA): 03000 200 301

Complaint form

IfWhere theyou landownerhave orthe occupierrequired doesevidence notset takeout actionabove after you have asked them to, you can can make a complaint under the Weeds Act (between (between 1 April and 30 September only).

Email the form to weedenquiries@naturalengland.org.uk or post it to: