UK farmer John Price sentenced to prison for illegal tree felling

John Price, a 71‑year‑old farmer from Kingsland in Herefordshire, England, hired bulldozers in February 2022 to cut down 71 mature trees along the River Lugg. The work was intended to create a track and paddock for his horses, but it was carried out without any planning permission or river‑bank extraction licences.

In April 2023 a court found Price guilty of “industrial‑scale ecological vandalism”. Judge Ian Strongman sentenced him to 12 months in prison, of which he served 10, and imposed a £600,000 fine (about US$800,000) for destroying habitat of protected species such as otter, Atlantic salmon and river lamprey. The judge noted Price’s prior illegal removal of river‑bed material. Ecologist Richard Fishbourne warned that the river’s ecosystem could take 20‑30 years to recover.