What are overgrazing and unsuitable supplementary feeding?
• Overgrazing – grazing an area of land with so many animals that it causes damage to semi-natural or natural vegetation. • Unsuitable supplementary feeding – causing damage to semi-natural or natural vegetation by feeding livestock or by transporting feed. • Natural or semi-natural vegetation – plant species that are typical of the local area, that are self-seeded or spread through their own means. Re-seeded or agriculturally improved land is not affected by these controls.What are the issues? • Since the 1980s there have been concerns about the adverse impacts that grazing livestock can have on natural and semi-natural vegetation. As a consequence, in 1994, the Government introduced a number of environmental provisions to address these issues. These measures form part of the Cross Compliance conditions GAEC 9: Overgrazing and Unsuitable Supplementary Feeding attached to the Single Payment Scheme (SPS). The measures are also required under the Rural Development Programme for England (
