Trespass with Foraging

[Rexcernui]

 

 

I think your attitude STINKS!!!!

+1

Can see this getting locked.

[artschool]

I am with you on this but the thing that really annoys I was borne in this country so was my dad and mum and there dad and mum going back to as fare as we can trace unyet there is practicaly now where that I can drive my 4x4 offroad or shoot my guns or do loads of things but some jonny foriner can come here and buy up grate swathes of land and do whatever they want but then it is all my fault I should not have been born poor or without the ability to do a job that would give me pots of money.

i am with you comrade! we need to get rid of all these foriners[sic] and then create community farms where everyone can hunt to their hearts content.

 

i am willing to be that tractor production will rise 200% with this good news.

[stubby]

well, I'm neither foreign or rich, but due to the death of my parents, was left enough to buy my own wood, but I'd still tell you to sling your hook if you were on my patch without permission, saying that they don't remove the mushrooms themselves, and so they would go to waste, is like saying, lets take all the logs/trees/standing deadwood, as they aint using it

at the end of the day, theft is theft however you try to hide it

you knew you were in the wrong, yet want to post about it, so others can agree with you and say what a ******* the land owner is

[welsh1]

To be fair I don't think the op had malice in his op,just making an observation about collecting something that otherwise would rot,and he was doing no harm,it is a tricky one and I can see both sides,that's why I advised the op to write to the landowner,the last part of my op was tounge in cheek.

[Uncle Albert]

With hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of equipment stolen from farms every year, it is not surprising that farmers and their staff have instructions to say no to any requests for shooting permission. This is especially important when you hear that security on tractors etc is so poor.

[clakk]

a lot of the farms hereabouts are now double gated and electric pass locked.plenty many private road/property signs ,frustrating in the search of permissions.totally understand though as the hoards of dog walkers/ramblers ,teenage airgun donkeys and travelling lurcher exercisers doing what they want must drive farmers mental.having experienced the joy of police response times both at work after a robbery and privately losing a motorbike which was recovered beyond trashed from a fairground lorry i can believe innocent mushroom pickers will be viewed the same as thieving toerags by some.they dont know if your genuine or not as welsh 1 said ask first better than being arrested for trespass .

[Muddy Funker]

Like a rich shiek is going to give a toss about a letter written to him regarding mushrooms? I doubt he'd even read it.

 

I'd find somewhere a little more hassle free to forage.

[jasper3]

Whether, your garden is 20ft x 10ft or 200 acres, its still yours, none of us knows, what plans the owner has, he may have a planting project going on in the woods, he may even collect the mushrooms himself,

I would think a letter would be the best option, also stating you would deliver some of the produce to him/her

 

many of these land owners do like to be part of the community, so i wouldn't be surprised if he did say yes,

 

the groundsman was just doing his job, and fair play to him

 

 

one other thing springs to mind... INSURANCE ... would the land owner be liable if you where to have an accident on his land ?

[overandunder2012]

Like a rich shiek is going to give a toss about a letter written to him regarding mushrooms? I doubt he'd even read it.

 

I'd find somewhere a little more hassle free to forage.

your probably right but he may like playing lord of the manor so you never know

[njc110381]

Writing to ask permission would be a good move but I would do some homework first so you know where you stand. - I think you may well be able to forage for 'shrooms and berries on his land and still be within the law.

 

A good many of these ancient laws were recognised in the "Right to roam" and Countryside act.

 

(3) A person who picks mushrooms growing wild on any land, or who picks flowers,

fruit or foliage from a plant growing wild on any land, does not (although not in possession

of the land) steal what he picks, unless he does it for reward or for sale or other commercial

purpose.

For purposes of this subsection ‘mushroom’ includes any fungus, and ‘plant’ includes any

shrub or tree.

 

The WCA is a complex piece of legislation, which touches upon common law rights in certain areas. I will take two examples – plant gathering and animal hunting/ gathering. In general a landowner owns all trees and plants growing upon his or her plot. An owner has the right to sever such objects from the land (and to sell the same), but WCA intervenes in the case of certain protected wild plants. In short if a plant species is protected under WCA, no one can pick, destroy or sell it (including the landowner) without committing an offence. If a species does not enjoy WCA protection what about the stranger who wants to take plants? An act of this nature would ordinarily be theft, but an exception in the Theft Act states that in the case of mushrooms or plants growing wild on land, a person may take away foliage, fruit or parts of the plant without committing an offence – unless it is done with the intention of selling them, or for other reward.

 

So I could wander into a wood with my chainsaw, cut a branch off of a tree and take it home for firewood then? Not sure that would go down too well!

[1066]

 

So I could wander into a wood with my chainsaw, cut a branch off of a tree and take it home for firewood then? Not sure that would go down too well!

I'm not saying you could or should - I'm all for "every mans home is his castle" and keeping scroats and undesirables off your own private property. What I'm saying is there are some ancient laws, often especially there to protect the lowly serfs but kept alive to protect the heritage and ancient traditions of this country, that might be worth looking into in this particular case - I have no idea, I've done no research but I did know that A. A lot of land in private ownership is now open for recreational purposes. B. The taking of fungus and berries is not classed as theft if it is for private consumption.

 

Many land owners find it inconvenient that public footpaths and bridleways run through their land. I can imagine a rich Middle Eastern gentleman, having just purchased half of Devon would be absolutely stunned to think some lowly pleb can wander across his land and pick up any firewood (By hook or by crook), fungus and berries that he can reach from a public footpath, but this is the law. There have been many cases where rich powerful people have tried to block public footpaths (two local cases here was Paul McCartney and Nicolas van Hoogstraten ) and come unstuck in the court, also many cases of "common" land being fenced in and because no-one stood up and complained the land was absorbed into the local estate.

 

What I'm saying is, just do some homework, check the land registry, does this guy really own the land or just thinks he does, is there public right of way there, who knows?

Edited October 6, 2013 by 1066

[spinach]

Not sure how to take the op ,I was walking on land where I know there are some mushrooms that I like I have never asked for permission and when the employed land manager turned up I tried my hand at getting a retrospective permission. Then he said NO. Probably due to the fact his boss is a foreigner , I know that.

If I'd said I was walking in the country with my loaded shotgun where I felt like and I know there are pheasants and this bloke turned up all angry cos of his foreign boss and told me to get of his shoot next thing the police were everywhere.

 

Try asking for permission before you go and he might well say yes or at least why not.

John.

[Doc Holliday]

Ok, so here is the villain, I mean the land owner - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8915019/Kent-villagers-defeat-Saudi-Prince-in-footpath-battle.html seems that even he thinks he is above the law. What's that old saying about not casting stones, etc.? What am I saying? They still do it in his country. Sorry, that may be a tad below the belt but I'll comfort myself by saying it was justified.

 

Maybe if he wants to earn the respect and trust of the locals or those who respect the countryside a little give and take would pay dividends in my opinion. Ok, so it would be hard to police. It's hard to police anyway so why not try to make it a little easier by adopting some outside help? I believe someone already said about having extra eyes and ears on the ground.

 

I think I may even ask if they need any beaters this season and try and get in the old back door :-)

Edited October 6, 2013 by Doc Holliday

[four-wheel-drive]

The point that I was trying to make was that there is very little coman land in this country lots of countrys have large areas that the people who live there have the rite to use but due to our fudel histery in this country allmost all of the land is owned by someone and that to me is not fair on the majority of hard working people who as hard as they work will never be in a posision to buy just a small plot of land so have to go cap in had to the land owner and say please sir can I walk on your grass.

[Gimlet]

I'm not saying you could or should - I'm all for "every mans home is his castle" and keeping scroats and undesirables off your own private property. What I'm saying is there are some ancient laws, often especially there to protect the lowly serfs but kept alive to protect the heritage and ancient traditions of this country, that might be worth looking into in this particular case - I have no idea, I've done no research but I did know that A. A lot of land in private ownership is now open for recreational purposes. B. The taking of fungus and berries is not classed as theft if it is for private consumption.

 

 

 

The trouble with ancient laws is just that: they're ancient, from a time when the total population numbered a few hundred thousand and most of the landscape was wilderness. Now we're 70 million and rising more rapidly than at any time in history, there is no wilderness anywhere, not a single square inch and all land is owned by someone. Applying ancient feudal laws to modern society because they have a romantic ring about them or allowing a free-for-all is a recipe for strife, and for landscape destruction. The cynical electoral opportunism of successive governments, including the present one, in trying to nationalise farmland and turn it into a public recreation facility will lead to the ruination of both landscape, its wildlife and serious food production. We'll end up within my lifetime living in an island city state completely reliant on imported food.

[karpman]

Ok, so here is the villain, I mean the land owner - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8915019/Kent-villagers-defeat-Saudi-Prince-in-footpath-battle.html seems that even he thinks he is above the law. What's that old saying about not casting stones, etc.? What am I saying? They still do it in his country. Sorry, that may be a tad below the belt but I'll comfort myself by saying it was justified.

 

Maybe if he wants to earn the respect and trust of the locals or those who respect the countryside a little give and take would pay dividends in my opinion. Ok, so it would be hard to police. It's hard to police anyway so why not try to make it a little easier by adopting some outside help? I believe someone already said about having extra eyes and ears on the ground.

 

I think I may even ask if they need any beaters this season and try and get in the old back door :-)

Stick to the footpath it's what it's there for and what you and your neighbours fought to preserve. It is of little importance who the land is owned by and if he is a **** head or not.

 

It's private you were on there and then grumble when you get kicked off. Knowing full well you shouldn't be there and that you would get asked to leave.

 

Justify it however you see fit, you were in the wrong.

 

Karpman

[Greymaster]

Nobody has asked the mushrooms what they think. It's always the same, keeping them in the dark.

[spinach]

Greymaster, brilliant.

[Gordon R]

Referring to the land owner as a villain is unlikely to win you many Brownie Points.

 

As for the link - the landlord broke the law and has been made to abide by it, whereas the OP wants to break the law and the Forum to sanction it.

 

Bottom line is that the landowner owns the land and he has rights. The fact that he is from abroad is a complete red herring - bordering on lunacy.

 

Next we will be demanding that land is not sold to the highest bidder, but someone who grew up within 10 metres of the property.

[chady]

Next we will be demanding that land is not sold to the highest bidder, but someone who grew up within 10 metres of the property.

I hope not !! There is a lot of land 10 meters from me!!!

 

Unfortunately it's a grave yard...... :)

[Gordon R]

:lol:

[johnny]

I look after a farm and it gets right on my tits people who think its ok to go and do what ever they like. What gets me are the ones who start fing and blinding at me for asking them to keep to footpaths. When I started where iam now we had margins round all the fields for wildlife 2 years later we have none as people just take the **** thinking they are there for their benifit.

 

If its not yours keep to the footpaths.

[JDog]

Doc

 

I am sure that you are a decent man but you must see that this Landowner has recently lost a court case concerning an actual footpath and that he has instructed his employees to ensure that no other 'user rights' spring up anywhere else.

 

It is his ground and if there are no footpaths where there are mushrooms then you should keep well away.

[keg]

There is a similar discussion on some Kayaking forums. The view from many Kayakers is that they do not damage or use the water, merely travel on it and should have free access to it. This means that they have to access some of the rivers over private land. They do not see this as trespass either...

 

In my eyes it's simple. If you are on private land without permission it's trespass. If you want the land, buy it.

[henry d]

Please tell me you haven`t took Munglers plants?