Kent Downs AONB false ragwort info

One of the really depressing things about the information on ragwort on the internet is how often the information provided by official bodies is wrong.

In this case it is the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty who are distributing material which is unquestionably wrong.  They have produced a document called "Managing Land for Horses"
which makes the following incorrect statement..

   Landowners and occupiers have a duty to prevent the spread of ragwort under the Weeds Act 1959 and the Ragwort Control Act 2003.

Now the thing about laws is that they can be black and white and in this case they are.So we can be absolutely certain about what a law says and these laws DO NOT place a duty on landowners and land occupiers to prevent the spread of ragwort. The 1959 Act provides for the application of control orders where the plant is a problem. In the absence of an order there is no obligation on anyone to do anything and the second Act just provides for the production of a non-obligatory code of practice. In the link in this sentence you  can find a briefing on ragwort law .

There is of course much misinformation about ragwort on the internet these days, so you are advised to go to the Ragwort Facts website for more information.

This is a salient lesson to those who insist on following official bodies. It is well known that to argue from authority is a complete no-no in science, indeed there is evidence that people who do this habitually are in fact less intelligent. This is another of many examples of incorrect official information on ragwort.