Legality of picking wild things.

[Nagual]

It came up in another thread, about the legality of picking wild flowers. I'm no expert, but have found these few sources to be of guidance. It boils down to yes you can pick most things but not some, as they are protected. You cannot up root anything without permission, and then only if you're allowed by law. Anyway enough of me and to the quotes:

It is a crime to:

* uproot any wild plant, unless this is accidental or permission has been given by the owner or occupier of the land;
* pick or destroy a specially protected plant;
* possess one of these specially protected plants or any part of them or to advertise them for sale.

It is crime to uproot any wild plant, unless permission has been given by the owner or occupier of the land, or the uprooting occurred accidentally. There is a list of over 150 specially protected plants , which includes mosses, algae and lichens as well as flowering plants. It is a crime to pick or damage these listed plants in any way, unless this happens as the incidental and unavoidable result of an otherwise lawful activity and you have not been reckless in carrying this out. It is also a crime to possess one of these specially protected plants or any part of them or to advertise them for sale and so, as with protected animals, you should ensure that you have evidence of how you came by them if you chose to own them. There are four species protected as European Protected Species . A further list of species are protected against excessive exploitation.

The bluebell, or wild hyacinth, is currently protected only against sale to prevent the unsustainable harvesting of bulbs from woodland. It is expected that sale will be permitted under a scheme to license reputable growers and so enable gardeners to legally obtain this attractive native species.

Question

Q641
Can I pick wild flowers growing at the side of the road?
Answer

Yes as long as you are keeping them for your own personal use and are not selling them. You cannot, however, pick the whole plant, that would be classed as theft. The flowers must be genuinely wild (not planted for a commemorative purpose etc) you must exercise caution if you are going to pick wild flowers as you do not want to inadvertently commit an offence.

The same applies for picking wild mushrooms.

The Wildlife and Countryside act 1981 is full of good advice, obviously. With the The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 updating it.

Part one of the Act contains the bits about plants, it can be downloaded here in pdf format.
You can get the pdf of protected plants here


Hope this helps some of you.


Cheers, Nag.

 

[andy_e]

Cheers for that Nag, good info.

 

[spamel]

How many plants can you have dug up before it becomes obvious that you aren't accidentaly digging them up any more?

 

[fishy1]

Does anyone know of any legislation that specifically states picking mushrooms for commercial gain on other's land in Scotland is illegal?

And does that mean in your quotes, that you could cut down trees as you wouldn't be uprooting them?

 

[Toddy]

http://www.snh.org.uk/scottish/species/fungi/fungicode.asp

I believe the curtiledge rules still apply.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[fishy1]

Fantastic, so landowners have no right to throw me off the land if I'm picking large amounts of mushrooms commerically, as long as I'm responsible.

 

[Nagual]

Does anyone know of any legislation that specifically states picking mushrooms for commercial gain on other's land in Scotland is illegal?

And does that mean in your quotes, that you could cut down trees as you wouldn't be uprooting them?

http://www.snh.org.uk/scottish/speci.../fungicode.asp I believe the curtiledge rules still apply. cheers, Toddy

Cheers Toddy you beat me to it ( damn slow mobile phone connection ) Mushroom picking is a little gray, if not very gray and murky in the eyes of the law. Further SNH FAQ has this snippet:

Can I pick wild fungi? In most cases, yes. Most of the body of a fungus is hidden in the ground or in dead wood. The mushrooms and toadstools that we see are temporary, spore-producing organs. Therefore picking most mushrooms and toadstools does not kill the organism. For a few very rare species it is illegal to pick the fruiting body because their survival may be threatened by this (although none of these are known to occur in Scotland). See the plants law page. When picking fungi please do follow the Scottish Wild Mushroom Code. If you are picking fungi for sale, you should obtain the permission of the landowner.

You'll see the 'should' part of that. In Hugh FW's mushroom guide it says that even if you don't have permission to be on the land the land owner cannot legally force you to leave the mushrooms behind. Although I suspect the police could. In any event I really do not recommended you try and be cocky with picking anything thats not yours., at best you will get nothing and be worst you'll end up in court. As for cutting down trees, I think you'll find that would be criminal damage or something along those lines. Cheers, Nag.

 

[fishy1]

Even if the trees were wild and not for harvesting? If so, surely all landowners could claim picking wildflowers is also commercial harvesting.

I suppose you could pick mushrooms for your family and friends and then change your mind when you had left the land...

 

[Toddy]

Fantastic, so landowners have no right to throw me off the land if I'm picking large amounts of mushrooms commerically, as long as I'm responsible.

You do realise that this will exclude land that is under pasture, i.e. for hay, or growing crops, or SSSI's, or the garden areas around folks homes ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Nagual]

Sorry fishy1 but under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003

Conduct excluded from access rights
The conduct which is within this section is—
(a) being on or crossing land in breach of an interdict or other order of a court;
(b) being on or crossing land for the purpose of doing anything which is an offence or
a breach of an interdict or other order of a court;
(c) hunting, shooting or fishing;
(d) being on or crossing land while responsible for a dog or other animal which is not
under proper control;
(e) being on or crossing land for the purpose of taking away, for commercial purposes
or for profit, anything in or on the land;
(f) being on or crossing land in or with a motorised vehicle or vessel (other than a
vehicle or vessel which has been constructed or adapted for use by a person who
has a disability and which is being used by such a person);

Cheers, Nag.

 

[fishy1]

Oh yeah, I know that. Most of the mushroom picking I do takes place in forests. Were you getting an idea of me breaking into a mushroom farm and taking them all?

Nagual, thanks for that, guess I will only pick for family and friends when I am on the land.