COMING from the north of England where ragwort is rife, I do hope people will sit up and take note of Avril Leonard's letter to the Times (September 5).
Ragwort kills people, sheep, cattle and horses. It may appear that animals are grazing amongst it unaffected, and this is where the complacency comes in. However, it is a cumulative poison, ie, animals appear to be fine, but when the poison reaches a certain level in their bodies it attacks the liver and is a horrible death.
It will usually be avoided unless the animal is hungry. If it is allowed onto the moor and it is already in abundance at Meldon, hungry moorland animals could be very tempted in winter.
Once it is dead it loses its bitterness and animals will willingly eat it. There is a real danger that this could get into hay and at best, render the crop worthless and at worst, poison whatever it is fed to. This is also the reason it must be removed and burnt, not just left to rot.
There is only one type of caterpillar that lives off ragwort and that is so revolting, having eaten the ragwort, that the birds avoid it.
Ragwort is a notifiable plant, it is illegal to let it grow. It did not gain that status for nothing. I have recently reported a 'crop' of the stuff to the Environment Department, West Devon.
It seems evident that this is coming into the area whenever top soil etc is brought from outside; also the building of the new A30 has brought lots of it, it just loves sandy soil and where there is building work there is sand.
When handling ragwort, protective gloves should be worn as it can enter the body via the skin.
If left unchecked, this could be the next epidemic to hit!
L T Hughes
Lynne L Hughes
Wood Park
Rossley
Bratton Clovelly