Ragwort Poisoning by Derek Smith, Ragwort-UK Ltd

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Ragwort is at its most dangerous at the very beginning and at the very end of its life. Ragwort starts out as a straggling seedling with two or three long thin leaves reaching up through the grass to reach the sunlight. These single leaves are not detected by the horse and can be eaten with a mouthful of grass. If the leaf is detected, it is spat out and dies, but within 2-3 days the dead leaf has lost all of its smell and bitterness and is happily eaten by the horse.

As the ragwort grows, it develops a crown and a strong rosette of leaves that press down firmly on the soil smothering any plants beneath them. At this stage the plant is very noticeable and is rarely eaten by animals unless it becomes damaged by treading and dies. In year 2 the rosette bolts to flower, again, unless damaged, the large plant is rarely a hazard to stock. That is - until it starts to die off. This starts with the lower leaves and progresses up the plant as flowering and seeding completes. The dead plant looses its acrid smell and bitter flavour and becomes palatable to stock - but it has retained all its toxicity!! This is also true for bolted ragwort that is cut and included in with a hay crop.

Handling Ragwort

Hand pulling ragwort can be a lethal activity for humans. During 2002 we were notified of one lady who developed jaundice after several days rooting out ragwort. The World Health Organisation state that there is a 74% probability of death (within 18 to 24 months) in humans presenting with ragwort induced jaundice. The problem is much worse in children. Unfortunately the medical profession are generally unaware and are unlikely to correlate liver disease with past bouts of ragwort pulling. Likewise, through a total lack of governmental responsibility, the public are almost totally unaware of this danger.

Horses

Finally, ragwort poisoning in horses need not be a terminal disorder. There have been some cases where animals with severe liver failure have been treated to remove the toxins and to stimulate liver regeneration and who are now in apparently excellent health. These cases are being reviewed by an international forum with the objective of producing a support and recovery programme for ragwort toxicosis.

Invertebrates

We cultivate considerable quantities of the plant, and apart from its awesome toxicity, we have developed a great respect for it. But most of all you have to admire the large array of invertebrate life that it supports. From beautiful stripy snails and colonies of ants through to the array of insects that come to nectar from it, and the braveheart Missumena the crab spider that uses the flowers as its hunting ground. Yet even this 'Natures abundance' role has dire implications for man. Back in 1998, over 80% of British honey was contaminated by ragwort and its poisons (by now of course, the situation is much worse). 10% of the samples tested by MAFF were so high in ragwort poisons that apart from being lethal, they were (luckily) inedible. By now, ragwort's poisons will be invading our food chain. Ironically, the most 'at risk' dairy product will be the Organic products. At risk because the organic farmers are not allowed to spray ragwort out of their grazing, and because it is physically impossible to hand pick it out.

Biodiversity Concerns

We have worked extensively with English Nature and Butterfly Conservation over the past two years to ensure that the Cinnabars we ship are disease and parasite free and that they are genetically beneficial. Without substantial guidance from both these organisations, local populations could have been damaged rather than augmented.

Link

Ragtime Memories: Ann Rothwell's (non-lethal) experience of picking ragwort

Ragwort-UK Ltd. breed Cinnabar moth caterpillars for release as natural predators for the biological control of ragwort.

Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator
E-mail; 'richard@willowisland.co.uk'

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