An environmental and legal debate inaugurated the session of the Alençon criminal court, this Thursday, November 7, 2024. A boss of a cereal and agricultural work company is being prosecuted for having removed “a 153 meter hedge and cut thirty-nine trees using herbicide”, near the village of Aspres, in Orne.
The cut was noted in September and October 2023 by the French Biodiversity Office (OFB). “We observed a clear cut of the hedge, says an OFB agent. Normally, by leaving the stumps, there is a recovery. However, this was not the case since the company used a herbicide preventing any regeneration. The entire line is dead, everything is destroyed. »
A hedge in a Natura 2000 area
The facts date back to 2020 according to the investigation carried out by the OFB. Problem: the hedge is located in a Natura 2000 classified area which is home to newts and protected birds. For the OFB, destruction of the hedge is an attack on the life of species. “ A hedge serves as a habitat for bats, it encourages the reproduction and nesting of birds »argues the environmental police officer.
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“The trees were dying”
When questioned, the boss of the company justifies the cutting of the hedge as “an exploitation” and not destruction. “The trees were dying. They will grow back naturally, it takes years,” defends the farmer in the face of the photos exposed by the court. On the use of herbicide, he refutes any direct use on the hedge. “ On the other hand, I used it for a crop plot. It may happen that it drifts towards the hedge,” he continues.
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“An intentional act”
The sixty-year-old's argument does not convince the Public Prosecutor's Office, which assures that cutting in an area of protected species is a “intentional act” to facilitate access to the farmer's two fields located on either side of the hedge. “Except that we are talking about multi-layer hedges, retorts the defense lawyer. However, it is a simple hedge of trees which does not include herbaceous plants and intermediate vegetation. He cut down because the trees had reached maturity. »
Fine of €1,000 including €500 suspended on one side. Relax on the other. The court closed the debate by condemning the company to a fine of €500 with a simple suspension, and a repair of the hedge, within one year.
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