With the wild mushroom foraging season truly upon us, Stalker was amazed to read about the travails of Brigitte Tee in England about ten years ago.
She was foraging in the New Forest in 2002 selling on the wild mushrooms to some of London’s best restaurants.
She was arrested and warned to discontinue.
She didn’t and was promptly rearrested and held in a police cell. Charged with theft, she spent 4 ½ years going through the courts until a judge finally threw out the case, saying it was a waste of public money.
With the recent pronouncements from Epping Forest about warning off mushroom pickers – it seems like lesson have not been learned.
Can mushroom foragers really be causing any harm at all to the forest environment?
Mrs Tee was given a personal licence to continue picking in the New Forest for the rest of her life!