The Ragwort Debate
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2018 10:57 am
The Ragwort Debate:
Morning All,
Following on from my recent post concerning the eradication of Ragwort near and around grazing livestock. I had a very interesting chat with a Vet who primarily treats livestock. As we were both volunteering at Fenn's and Whixall on Thursday and our task for the day was pulling Ragwort in fields where animals graze or which were to be mown for hay, the subject of the dangers of Ragwort was discussed. He told me that over the 30 odd years he had been a vet he had found no evidence of any animal being directly poisoned by the plant. However, he did admit that the plant contained toxins and if digested in decent quantities could result in serious consequences. He did stress though that decent quantities needed to be digested.
He also pointed out that a far more lethal plant, bush or tree, the YEW, is more dangerous to domestic animals
if digested either directly from the plant or from clippings. The powerful toxins apparently effect the heart and could result in death within a few short hours. It is necessary to warn anyone who owns Horses,Cattle, Sheep, etc. of the dangers and if they graze their animals next to gardens or allotments to allow a good margin using an electric fence of 2 or 3 metres from the original fence-line as some people tip their garden waste over fences into fields and there could be Yew clippings amongst them.
As a landscape gardener myself I must admit that I was not aware of the potential dangers of Yews to livestock, even though I dispose of all my waste in bins or at the local tip I will be more vigilant in future.
Greg
Morning All,
Following on from my recent post concerning the eradication of Ragwort near and around grazing livestock. I had a very interesting chat with a Vet who primarily treats livestock. As we were both volunteering at Fenn's and Whixall on Thursday and our task for the day was pulling Ragwort in fields where animals graze or which were to be mown for hay, the subject of the dangers of Ragwort was discussed. He told me that over the 30 odd years he had been a vet he had found no evidence of any animal being directly poisoned by the plant. However, he did admit that the plant contained toxins and if digested in decent quantities could result in serious consequences. He did stress though that decent quantities needed to be digested.
He also pointed out that a far more lethal plant, bush or tree, the YEW, is more dangerous to domestic animals
if digested either directly from the plant or from clippings. The powerful toxins apparently effect the heart and could result in death within a few short hours. It is necessary to warn anyone who owns Horses,Cattle, Sheep, etc. of the dangers and if they graze their animals next to gardens or allotments to allow a good margin using an electric fence of 2 or 3 metres from the original fence-line as some people tip their garden waste over fences into fields and there could be Yew clippings amongst them.
As a landscape gardener myself I must admit that I was not aware of the potential dangers of Yews to livestock, even though I dispose of all my waste in bins or at the local tip I will be more vigilant in future.
Greg