Hedge-cutting in breeding season.

Cardynal

Hi ,
Out for a drive near my home this morning i noticed a hedge being cut , i pulled in for a minute as i knew there were nesting birds in the exact location where the hedge was being cut.
Soon enough i saw some very agitated blackbirds , a couple of dunnock and a wren.
I aproached the guy on the tractor and asked him if he knew it was illegal to cut hedges this time of year and to my surprise he told me he was contracted to the council and was only clearing the roadside verge for sightlines , when i told him i had seen at least 18 inches being trimmed off the top , he just shrugged and went on his way. I examined the hedge later on and could'nt see any damaged nests.
I contacted the enviornment department in the council shortly after to complain and was told it would be looked into (won't hold my breath) ,
just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience ?.
Regards Tom.

doctor evil

Keep at it OP, it may help to take pictures of the hedge.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

You did everything just right. They are allowed cut hedges for road/traffic safety. Keep at the council about it.
Also, this is the time of year when the Tidy Towns groups are cutting hedges in preparation for judging. Please, everybody, report any hedge trimming to the environment section of your local Council, as Tidy Towns work is not related to any road safety and is totally out of order.

Valmont

I didn't know about this at all. I saw some hedge cutting going on yesterday, didn't even occur to me about nesting birds. Surely if it's private property it's ok?

Birdnuts

Valmont wrote: »

I didn't know about this at all. I saw some hedge cutting going on yesterday, didn't even occur to me about nesting birds. Surely if it's private property it's ok?

Eh - No!!!

Valmont

Birdnuts wrote: »

Eh - No!!!

This seems very strange to me that the government can dictate what times of the year I can and cannot cut hedges on my own property. Do you have a reference to the legal code that specifies this?

To be clear, I don't plan on cutting any of my hedges any time soon but I am just curious about the legality of the situation.

magicbastarder

Valmont wrote: »

This seems very strange to me that the government can dictate what times of the year I can and cannot cut hedges on my own property. Do you have a reference to the legal code that specifies this?

“(1) (a) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy, during the period beginning on the 1st day of March and ending on the 31st day of August in any year, any vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated.


(b) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy any vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch during the period mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection.”,

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2000/en/act/pub/0038/sec0046.html#partiv-chapii-sec46

it's not unusual that the government can dictate what you can and can't do on your own land; essentially, your hedgerow is a protected habitat during the period when animal life is not dependent on it.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Valmont wrote: »

This seems very strange to me that the government can dictate what times of the year I can and cannot cut hedges on my own property. Do you have a reference to the legal code that specifies this?

To be clear, I don't plan on cutting any of my hedges any time soon but I am just curious about the legality of the situation.

Magicbastarder has it covered. The government dictates many things you can't do on you own property. Dump Rubbish, have bonfires...

IrishHomer

Emmet Raspy Kiwi wrote: »

Magicbastarder has it covered. The government dictates many things you can't do on you own property. Dump Rubbish, have bonfires...

The Government are dictating to hedgerow owners in an effort to save the last wild birds that are left.

If or when they are extinct ye will be all on here moaning about the birds gone and the government never did anything to save them :mad:

(by the way anyone wishing to report hedgecutting should contact the Gardai or staff from National Parks and Wildlife)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

IrishHomer wrote: »

The Government are dictating to hedgerow owners in an effort to save the last wild birds that are left.

If or when they are extinct ye will be all on here moaning about the birds gone and the government never did anything to save them :mad:

(by the way anyone wishing to report hedgecutting should contact the Gardai or staff from National Parks and Wildlife)

I think you have the wrong end of the stick. Read my posts! I spend my life protecting Nature. I abhor illegal hedge cutting and I'm usually involved to stopped a few case of it every year. You need to read all the posts!

Valmont

Interesting! Thanks for the info guys.

IrishHomer

Taken from www.npws.ie

17/02/2010 - Birds and Wildlife Nesting and Breeding Season: Restrictions on the destruction of hedgerows and the destruction of vegetation on uncultivated land from 1 March to 31 August 2010

Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended by Section 46 of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000, restricts the cutting, grubbing, burning or destruction by other means of vegetation growing on uncultivated land or in hedges or ditches during the nesting and breeding season for birds and wildlife, from 1 March to 31 August.
In Ireland hedges are of exceptional importance as habitats, particularly for birds but also for wild flowers, shrubs and trees and provide food and shelter for birds and other wildlife and enhance the diversity of nature in our countryside.
These restrictions apply not only to private land-users but also to local authorities, public bodies and to contractors. Although there are some exemptions to the above restrictions, for works carried out during the normal course of agriculture and forestry or where they are executed for public health and safety reasons by a statutory body, it is nevertheless this Department’s policy to prosecute where there appears to have been a breach of the law.
The assistance of the public is sought in bringing to attention any alleged unlawful cutting, grubbing, burning or destruction, by reporting details to the Gardaí or to the local Conservation Rangers of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of this Department. Reported instances will, as far as practicable, be investigated.
Your local NPWS Office will be found under this Department’s entry in the State Directory (green) pages of the telephone directory.
The provisions of the Wildlife Acts in relation to Section 40 including the relevant exemptions may be accessed through the NPWS website at http://www.npws.ie/en/WildlifePlanningtheLaw/Legislation/ .

homolumo

amazed to see a good stretch of roadside hedge being cut along the Cork Road here in Waterford (from Butlerstown to just before Kilmeaden). wtf?

Mothman

This issue arises every year.
While we are mainly focussed on nesting birds, it goes far beyond that. A huge food resource for birds and mammels are amonsgst the foliage that gets shredded with the hedge cutting. Caterpillars usually go for the youngest growth and while some may fall off just before the flails get them, I'd say most perish.

meathstevie

Only exception to cutting in the closed season is for safety reasons.

Finnmac

IrishHomer wrote: »

The Government are dictating to hedgerow owners in an effort to save the last wild birds that are left.

If or when they are extinct ye will be all on here moaning about the birds gone and the government never did anything to save them :mad:

(by the way anyone wishing to report hedgecutting should contact the Gardai or staff from National Parks and Wildlife)

I agree fairplay

Bsal

I noticed yesterday a tractor cutting hedges near forest little golf club close to Dublin airport, so there still at it :mad:

mecksimay

You can report illegal hedge cutting to the Irish Wildlife Trust, they have a dedicated web page where you can record various details regarding the incident http://iwt.ie/what-we-do/hedgerows/

popsmar

This year v cut all the road side hedging and side strip trees on all road side danger areas form the first day of the cutting session regardless of the weather. Even if it kills the tree

Roads can't be left in the same state they are in now...