A law dating back to the 1880s aimed at protecting farmers from tetanus is still catching out 21st-century gardeners

I admit that they’re not nature’s loveliest creation. But I can’t see any reason why we are required by law to rip up all the thistles in our gardens.

A woman in Genk only found out about the thistle law when she received a threatening letter in the post, waarin ze wordt aangemaand om een distel uit haar tuin te verwijderen – in which she was told to remove a thistle from her garden. Als ze dat niet doet – If she didn’t comply, volgt een bekeuring – she would get a fine. Ouch!

I honestly had no idea. And I have to say that it hurts me more than most people. The thistle is the national flower of my homeland. It flourishes in our wild mountain region where nothing else can survive except for spongy green moss. So why is it strictly banned in Belgium?

Well, I hardly need to tell you, it’s a long story. De wet dateert uit 1887 – The law dates from 1887, De Standaard explained recently, toen landbouwers nog tetanus riskeerden als ze eerst door een distel waren geprikt – when farmers still ran the risk of catching tetanus if they pricked themselves on a thistle, en dan met die wondjes met paardenmest in aanraking kwamen – and then came into contact with horse manure.

More than 100 years later, many people think this law is just a little out of date. Welke landbouwer bewerkt vandaag zijn akkers nog met de blote hand? – Where do you find farmers these days who still cultivate their land with their bare hands? asked De Standaard.

The socialist party agrees. And so does the environmental organisation Natuurpunt. De SP.A en Natuurpunt willen af van de strenge distelbestrijdingswet –SP.A and Natuurpunt want the strict thistle law abolished, wegens ‘compleet achterhaald’ – on the grounds that it is “totally obsolete”. Stop heksenjacht op distels – Stop the thistle witch hunt, they are demanding.

Natuurpunt points out that the ban on thistles has been abolished in most European countries. Even so, it looks like it’s going to be a tough job to get it abolished in Flanders. Landbouwbedrijven blijven er echter bij dat distels zich snel over hun akkers verspreiden – Farming organisations are still claiming that thistles can spread rapidly across their land.

Ook Joke Schauvliege toont zich voorlopig niet bereid de wet af te voeren – And Joke Schauvliege (Flanders’ environment minister) says she is not planning to abolish the law just yet.

So my advice to you is to get out into the garden right now and rip up all those thistles. But keep away from the horse manure.

Photo: Ingimage