How to Report Ragwort

SEERAD will accept complaints by email. The first complaint of 2007 was reported this way and resulted in swift action with the owner of the land reminded of their duty to control ragwort under the Weeds Act 1959, the location continues to be monitored by local SEERAD officials and further action will be taken if necessary.

Where the land is agricultural the action should take place as described above.

What Seerad will do

The Scottish Executive has assured BHS that where an infestation occurs on non-agricultural land the details will be passed on to the appropriate authority for further investigation. Local authorities have powers over non-agricultural land under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and over local roadsides and verges under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984. Weed control on trunk roads are under the terms of trunk road maintenance contracts held by BEAR Scotland and Amey Highways ltd, the Executive have vowed to take action if the roads authorities do not meet their requirements re weed control in their contracts. So therefore if you do complain about an infestation and no action is taken please let me know.

Help them as much as possible

It is important that when you are reporting a ragwort infestation you include as much information about the location as possible including address, postcode, road number and if possible ordnance survey coordinates.

A good way to work out coordinates is to use the website www.streetmap.co.uk Once you have identified your location on a map, click once to get the arrow to point to the area of ground where ragwort is growing. Then scroll down page to below Ask.com to where it says “This product includes mapping data copyright” and click on click HERE to measure coordinates and write down the 6 figure OD references X and Y and the postcode of the infestation.

Please send your complaint with these references to the email of the Seerad office local to you or local to the area you are complaining about taken from the attached list.

Next steps

• You will be pleased to hear that the new Scottish Animal Health and Welfare Act, which will be enacted in October, will bring more checks on equines being exposed to ragwort. At the third reading of the Bill last summer before it became an Act effective lobbying on behalf of BHS resulting in a Stage 3 amendment to put in place a ragwort welfare code for Scotland. Currently this SI is waiting in a queue of secondary legislation.

BHS Scotland’s ragwort campaign is in its 10th year – with your help we will get ragwort under control

Please let me know if your require further information or assistance.