On Friday 29th March, a BBC News story broke that will likely send ripples through the foraging community.
A woman was reportedly given a police caution for picking mushrooms in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, and found herself at the centre of a conservation and legal storm.
The police are quoted as stating that she was in breach of laws designed to protect Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and that she received a “community resolution order.”
While this may seem like a quirky story on a slow-news-day, there are some interesting aspects that are relevant to all foragers in the UK.
The woman is named (with fantastic nominative determinism) in news reports as Louise Gather.
In a video posted to TikTok after the event, she explained that she had visited the park after being tipped off to the location of some Magpie Inkcaps (Coprinopsis picacea). She filmed the mushrooms while there but insists she did not pick them, though she did have a foraging basket with her and openly discussed the knife she was carrying. According to her, the attending officer referred to the whole situation as a “box-ticking exercise,” and she has since shared an image of the carbon copy of the community resolution order.
It’s also worth noting that some media coverage—specifically the BBC’s original article—incorrectly referenced the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004. That legislation only applies in Scotland and has no relevance to incidents or offences occurring in England. The relevant legislation in this case would be the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which underpins much of the SSSI protection framework in England.
The story has already been picked up by multiple outlets and social media accounts, and like so many stories involving foraging, land access, and the law – it is a mess of half-truths, online outrage, and ecological context.
So instead of trying to pick apart every claim, let’s look at the bigger picture: what the law actually says about foraging in parks, SSSIs, and other public places.
Foraging in Bradgate Park
Bradgate Park is a country park and deer park in Leicestershire, forming part of the Charnwood Forest and designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Like many SSSIs, Bradgate has an associated list of ORNECs – Operations Requiring Natural England Consent (sometimes known as ORCs, or PDOs on older SSSIs). These are specific activities that Natural England considers potentially damaging to the features that make the site ecologically important.
The ORNEC list acts as a kind of risk register, flagging up any activity that, if conducted without oversight, could degrade the ecological integrity of the site. These might include ditching, draining, grazing, tree planting – and, importantly for this case – the removal of fungi.
From the Bradgate Park and Cropston Reservoir SSSI ORNEC list:
11: The destruction, displacement, removal or cutting of any plant or plant remains, including tree, shrub, herb, hedge, dead or decaying wood, moss, lichen, fungus, leaf-mould and turf.
That means any removal of plants, tree and fungi from that SSSI is legally restricted, and Natural England’s permission would be required for any such activity. This applies whether the fungi are being harvested for study, education, or personal consumption.
The inclusion of fungi in an ORNEC list reflects the fact that they are not just edible curiosities or Instagram fodder – they are a critical part of the site’s biodiversity, contributing to soil health, woodland function, and broader ecological processes.
Picking fungi in an SSSI without consent is not just a legal issue – it’s a conservation one.
But the SSSI protections are only part of the picture. Bradgate Park also has its own set of byelaws, made by the Trust Managing Committee under the Town Gardens Protection Act 1862 as applied by Section 15(3) of the Open Spaces Act 1906 and having effect by virtue of Section 55 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
These byelaws prohibit a wide range of activities that could damage the park or its features. Of particular relevance is the clause forbidding:
5. No unauthorised person shall dig, cut or take turf, sods, gravel, sand, clay, rock or other substance on or from the Park or dig up or remove, cut, fell, pluck, or wilfully or negligently injure any gorse, heather, timber or other tree, shrub, brushwood, plant, bulb, fungus, moss, fern, or other vegetation growing thereon or remove any bud, berry, flower, leaf or seed thereof.
This wording is broad by design. It includes not only digging or uprooting, but also the removal of any part of a living or dead plant—including mushrooms. Even in the absence of SSSI protections, the act of foraging mushrooms from Bradgate Park would likely constitute a breach of these byelaws, and could result in enforcement action.
However, these restrictions are not always visible or clearly communicated to visitors. The ORNEC list isn’t displayed on signage, and the park’s byelaws exist primarily as a downloadable PDF buried on the park website. Without prior knowledge of these layers of protection, a casual visitor with a basket might not suspect that picking a few mushrooms could carry legal consequences.
This is where friction often arises between conservation bodies and foragers. One side assumes the legal restrictions are obvious or well-publicised. The other assumes that quiet, selective foraging is permitted unless explicitly told otherwise. In places like Bradgate Park, those assumptions can clash—with legal, ecological, and reputational consequences
Parks, public places, and private rights
This case highlights a persistent myth in British foraging culture: that if you can access land, you can pick from it. This is not true—though the situation differs across the UK.
In England, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW Act) grants public access to mapped ‘access land’ such as mountains, moors, heaths, and downs, but it does not give you the right to pick or remove anything. Even in public parks or common land, local bylaws often restrict removal of any plant material. Nature reserves and country parks frequently have their own rules, and breaches can be treated as criminal offences.
SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) come with an additional layer of regulation. Whether or not the public can access the land, activities such as foraging may require explicit consent from Natural England, particularly when an ORNEC (Operation Requiring Natural England Consent) list is in place.
Even where the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 allows for the picking of certain wild plants and fungi, this does not override local restrictions, landowner rights, or site-specific protections.
Scotland, meanwhile, operates under a different system. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 grants more extensive access rights, including recreational and educational purposes across most land and inland water. While it does not expressly mention foraging, traditional non-damaging activities—such as berry and mushroom picking for personal use—are generally accepted under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. However, that still doesn’t include commercial foraging or disregard for designated conservation sites, and SSSIs in Scotland also carry similar protections under Scottish law.
If you’re not sure whether foraging is allowed somewhere, the safest assumption is that it probably isn’t—especially in England and Wales. Always check the local laws, site designations, and ownership status before picking anything. Ignorance of the law is rarely accepted as a defence, and ecological harm can be caused even when intentions are good.
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 gives access rights to certain types of land but does not confer the right to remove anything from it. Parks, nature reserves, and public spaces often have additional rules. And SSSIs, whether publicly accessible or not, are subject to restrictions that make foraging illegal without specific consent.
Even where the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 allows for the picking of fungi or plants, it does not override local byelaws or SSSI conditions. If you’re not sure if foraging is permitted somewhere, the safest assumption is that it probably isn’t.
Knives, baskets, and 'good reason'
In Gather’s TikTok video, she explains that she had a basket and a knife with her but did not pick anything. That may well be true – but context matters.
Under UK law, carrying a locking knife in a public place without “good reason” is an offence under the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Foraging can count as a good reason, but only if the act of foraging itself is lawful in that place at that time.
If foraging is prohibited—as it is in Bradgate Park—then any tools associated with it may also fall outside lawful justification. In this case, carrying a basket and a knife while standing next to the very mushrooms you were tipped off about is enough to raise questions.
The bigger picture: law, ecology, and culture
This incident doesn’t just reflect a misunderstanding of law—it highlights a growing disconnect between the online foraging culture and the fragile realities of our natural landscapes.
Workshops, social media accounts, and viral foraging reels often promote foraging in beautiful, photogenic settings without acknowledging local laws, land designations, or ecological sensitivity. The act of picking a mushroom might seem benign. But when multiplied by thousands, and repeated across hundreds of sensitive sites, it becomes something else entirely.
SSSIs exist for a reason. So do park byelaws. Whether we like them or not, they are designed to protect places that cannot easily recover from repeated human pressure.
As foragers and nature lovers, we have a responsibility not just to follow the law but to understand why it exists. Treading lightly means more than picking selectively. It means doing your homework. It means resisting the dopamine hit of the perfect mushroom photo. And it means knowing when to leave the basket—and the mushrooms—where they are.
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