What consideration it has given to changing the law in relation to the responsibilities landowners have to control (a) giant hogweed and (b…

The Scottish Government made significant changes to the law on non-native species in 2011, introducing a new regime of species control agreements and orders under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This enables relevant bodies (Scottish Ministers, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Forestry Commission Scotland) to make agreements or orders setting out measures that must be taken to control or eradicate an invasive non-native animal or plant.
Last year, the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee considered Petition PE01586 which asked the Scottish Government to create further statutory powers to force landowners to destroy invasive non-native species that grow on their private property. The Committee noted that many stakeholders were satisfied that the existing legislation provides adequate powers to address the issue and, on that basis, closed the petition.
Scottish Natural Heritage is using its statutory powers to support the control of giant hogweed within priority river catchments.