Anyone who has hedges in their garden is being urged to trim them before March thanks to an environmental law.
There’s a little-known law governing hedges and hedgerows in the UK, which applies from March until August and separately, there are laws which protect garden birds from being disturbed, too.
Falling foul of these outdoor regulations could land you with an ‘unlimited fine’ and in extreme circumstances, even carries a risk of prison time.
Farm hedgerows cannot legally be cut between March 1 and August 31 at all because of laws to protect nesting birds.
While it’s legal to trim domestic garden hedges at this time of year, if you intentionally cause a bird’s nest to be damaged or destroyed, then you’re still breaking the law.
Wood Street Care Leicester says: “Cutting your hedge during bird nesting season can damage or destroy nests, which is harmful to the birds. It’s also illegal to trim hedges on your property if they’re taller than 20 metres without permission from the local council.”
For most birds, nesting season runs from March onwards (which is part of the reason farm hedgrerows are protected from March), though some, like pigeons and doves, nest earlier still.
Under Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it’s an offence to intentionally damage or destroy a wild bird’s nest while it is being built or in use.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds backs this up too. It says that a person is breaking that law if they intentionally damage a bird’s nest while it’s being used or built, and this applies to trimming hedges.
“The moment it becomes active, it is illegal to destroy it.”
That’s why gardeners are best advised to trim away any overgrown hedges in February. Not only does this keep you on the right side of the law, but it avoids any chance of harming nesting birds in their vital breeding season, even by accident.
Amazingly, breaking this law could land you an unlimited fine and six months in prison, even for a single bird’s nest egg being broken.
The RSPB adds: “The consequences for the above, even in the event of harm to a single bird, nest or egg, is an unlimited fine, up to six months in jail or both. Suffice to say, it is certainly not a risk worth taking.”
So if you do need to trim your garden hedges, February is the last chance to do it without running the risk of disturbing nesting birds.
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