Picking mushrooms is a real popular pleasure in autumn. But we must not forget that this practice is regulated by law. The rules differ if you are in a private or public forest.
Wild mushrooms that grow in private forests belong, unlike game, to the owner of the land, “by right of accession”, as stipulated in article 547 of the Civil Code, notes the Charente prefecture. Clearly, as with all other industrial or natural fruits growing in this land, picking is only tolerated if prior authorization has been obtained from the owner. This is the case even if the land is not fenced or does not have signs prohibiting entry and picking.
Picking mushrooms on private land without obtaining permission from the owner constitutes theft punishable by a fine of up to 750 euros. Note that since 2012 and the new Forest Code, there is no longer a threshold below which any harvest is tolerated. Marketing of the harvest without the agreement of the owner of the land is also prohibited. Even if you have obtained authorization, you must ensure that you respect the place and its provisions, collect sparingly and not contravene prefectural and municipal orders.
As indicated in the prefectural decrees, the picking of mushrooms in public forests is only authorized for so-called family consumption. Concretely, this means that we can only collect up to 5 liters of mushrooms per person per day. This makes it possible in particular to preserve biodiversity. Taking more than 5 liters is punishable by a fine of up to 750 euros. If you are checked with more than 10 liters, you risk a fine of 45,000 euros and three years of imprisonment.
It is better to read the prefectural decrees to know the days and times of authorization or prohibition. They also specify whether the destruction of mushrooms or the collection of certain rare species is rare. In all cases, collection for commercial purposes is prohibited without authorization from the community owning the forest and collection is prohibited for safety reasons during hunting.
