Over 2,700 byelaw breaches in six weeks in New Forest
These included many incidences of the public feeding livestock
Last updated 10th Jan 2022
A survey co-ordinated by 'Friends of the New Forest' has shown that in just a six week period last year, there were more than 2,700 breaches of their byelaws.
In Autumn 2021, the groups members and volunteers recorded any incidents they saw for six weeks to generate independent data on any breaches.
Each observer noted on average 11 per visit.
This included:
1,100 reports of litter and dog mess
550 reports of cyclists away from designated tracks
500+ reports of cars parked on open forest verges away from car parks
50 reports of livestock being chased and/or attacked by dogs
150 reports of livestock being fed by the public
140 reports of cars blocking access to the open forest
Multiple reports of drone flying, wild camping, open fires/BBQs, fly-tipping, and the picking of large quantities of fungi
A Freedom of Information request to Forestry England, who manage around half of the national park, by FoNF confirmed that there have been no formal investigations or prosecutions of byelaw breaches since at least 2015.
John Ward, Chairman of Friends of the New Forest, said:
“We are grateful to everyone who contributed data to this initiative. The results are startling and show that current forest initiatives focussed on educational activities and volunteering alone are insufficient to protect the forest from harm, and that we urgently require updated byelaws that are appropriately promoted and enforced by the forest authorities.”
Meanwhile, Vice Chair Gale Pettifer told Greatest Hits Radio that it's vital people are following all the laws of the forest:
"It's hugely important, particularly for the wildlife that nest and feed in the New Forest. For them, they have no alternative, and this is where they feed, they raise their young and they cannot go elsewhere. So the landscapes of the forest, their habitats are the ones that are vital to their existence. If we want to go cycling, walking, kick a ball around, there are lots of alternatives or there ought to be.
"The National Park Authority, their rangers, the Forestry England Rangers, the staff on the ground do an incredible job but they cannot be in all places at all times and they do a marvellous job. They really, really do. But there's just not enough of them and a lot of the surveys they do in terms of insects, birds, trees, the water catchment, they're doing some incredible reporting themselves, which is how we know that the forest is the kind of unique landscape that it is. So it would be nice to see more resources on the ground to actually preserve and try and disperse some of the activities."