This sont natural screens that run along the fields. The hedges are brear against wind and erosion. They are protected, and it is forbidden to cut them down without authorisation. Nevertheless, 23,500 kilometers disappear each year in France. This Breton farmer in yypulled 350 meters in alle illegality last year. Breeder of beef cows, he cultivates his plots to feed his animals. Financially cornered, according to him, the hedges competed with his cereals, and he could not do otherwise. For this uprooting, he risks a fine of 150,000 euros and three years in prison.
Land without hedges more exposed to climatic hazards.
Removing hedges to produce more is a bad choice for the environment. Land without hedges is more exposed to climatic hazards. Since 1950, 70% of hedgerows have disappeared, and with them, an entire ecosystem. “There is no more life, no more birds, no more fields. Only wheat”, is sorry Jean-Francois Bouguennec of the collective against the leveling of embankments. To fight against the disappearance of hedges, there are virtuous people. In Mayenne, there is a sector for managing wood from the bocage. This allows sustainable management of the hedge, and saves in particular oil heating. Virtuous farmers are financially encouraged. IThey receive seven euros per hectare per year.