For once I agree with WF Kerswell – if indeed the land has been sprayed, why on earth has this been done instead of using natural, non-chemical methods of bracken control?

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It’s another case of “greenwash” by those at the top – they urge us to be green, but can’t be bothered to practice what they preach.

Do as we say, but don’t so as we do.

Shame, really, because Long Mynd blueberries are delicious and normally worth the effort of going there to pick some. But in the mind of theses petty people, the best time to poison the whole area is days before a bank holiday with sun forecast.

No doubt, these vindictive idiots will soon start doing the same thing along the roadsides to protect us from rampaging blackberries.

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Coincidently a controlled burn will be taking place on bank holiday monday.

Heather Ash fields

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Can hardly believe the stupidity of this – I challenge the authority responsible go public with an explanation or better still an apology and reassurance that it won’t happen again. We are being poisoned everywhere we go these days. Sue ‘em!

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Oi kerswell

you dont have a clue

since when are you a toxicologist

this place is run by the national trust – they are an ENVIRONMENTAL group – do you think they dont know the rules on environment ??

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i agree the incinerator is more toxic than any chemical sprays

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“this place is run by the national trust – they are an ENVIRONMENTAL group – do you think they dont know the rules on environment ?? ”
OH MY GOD i think some one out there actually believes this .

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Mr Kerswell’s letter seems to be strong on hysteria and weak on sense.

Why is bracken being sprayed? Because bracken is dangerous to humans – its spores are known to cause cancers of the digestive system – you can swallow a large number of these in even a short walk through an area with heavy bracken growth.

Why are they using Asulox? Because it is not harmful to humans or animals. It is sprayed at high dilutions and is utterly harmless. You would probably come to no harm if you did eat any wild fruit it was sprayed upon, but in this age of extreme caution and fear of litigation, it’s hardly surprising that it has been seen fit to put up signs.

So why do the operatives wear protective clothing? Well, firstly people seem to don protective clothing for almost any reason these days, but secondly, the operatives will be exposing themselves to far more of the chemical during the course of a spraying session than you or I in a walk in the countryside – some of it possibly in undiluted form, and will also most likely be dislodging many of the aforementioned carcinogenic spores, so it makes sense, but shouldn’t be seen as an indication of danger to anyone else.

Asulox has been used without any reports of harm for many decades. Far from the National Trust ‘killing Shropshire with pollution’ they’re simply managing the environment and protecting their visitors’ health.

From the ridiculous hysteria in this thread anyone would think they were spraying Agent Orange!

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