The annual hedge cutting season will come to a close this Friday, March 1, with the arrival of the nesting and breeding season.
Under the Wildlife Act, the cutting, grubbing, burning or other destruction of “vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch” is illegal between March 1 and August 31.
However, there are limited exceptions in the “ordinary course” of agriculture or forestry, the destruction of noxious weeds, and cutting roadside hedges for road safety reasons.
Hedge cutting
The phrase “the ordinary course of agriculture” is not specifically defined in the act, and its interpretation is a matter for the courts, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said.
The purpose of this provision is to ensure that farmers, landowners and foresters are not prevented from carrying out tasks necessary for their work, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said.
“Some of this may include the cutting back of hedging in order to widen an entrance to allow machinery pass through or, for instance, the maintenance of the operation of electrical fencing.
“This provision does not, however, give a blanket exemption – nor does it generally extend the hedge-cutting season,” the department confirmed to Agriland.
It is not the “ordinary course of agriculture” to carry out routine farm hedge maintenance (or removal) in the restricted period, according to the NPWS.
The courts have long held against people who have removed or significantly cut back extensive hedging during the closed season, with significant penalties imposed, the department said.
Nesting and breeding season
Hedgerows are “exceptionally important” for biodiversity, the department said. The NPWS, as a part of the department’s heritage division, has responsibility for biodiversity protection.
Hedgerows provide botanical diversity as well as food and shelter for pollinators, mammals and other animals, most notably birds, and also act as corridors that connect habitats.
Under the EU Birds Directive, Ireland is required to take measures to establish a general system of protection for birds, including the following:
- Preventing the deliberate killing of protected wild birds;
- Preventing the deliberate destruction of or damage to nests and eggs; and
- Preventing the deliberate disturbance of protected wild birds, particularly during the period of breeding and rearing.
The purpose of the closed season for hedge cutting as set down in the act is to ensure that hedgerows are provided with specific protection.
The current closed period is based primarily on the generally recognised nesting and breeding period for wild birds, according to the department.