Penalty for illegal felling of Christmas trees spruce and pine in 2021

Date: Dec. 15, 2021

What is the penalty for illegal cutting of Christmas trees of spruce and pine?

     With the approach of the new year, the number of cases of illegal felling of spruce and pine trees is increasing in the area. In order to reduce such cases, employees of the state forest protection of the Kobrin experimental forestry during the Christmas and New Year holidays have strengthened the protection of forest plantations with the presence of coniferous young trees, areas of forest crops. Raid measures will be regularly carried out to identify and bring to justice citizens illegally cutting down New Year's trees, together with representatives of the State Inspectorate for the Protection of Wildlife under the President of the Republic of Belarus, the Kobrin District Inspectorate of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. We remind citizens that the transportation of Christmas trees without permits is prohibited. For illegal logging or damage to the extent of cessation of growth or destruction of tree and shrub vegetation in nature conservation, recreational and protective forests, citizens can pay from 5 to 50 basic amounts of a fine according to part 1 of Article 16.17 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses. Individual entrepreneurs will have to pay from 20 to 200 basic units, and legal entities — from 50 to 300. In the remaining territories of the forest fund, fines of up to 20 basic values are provided for citizens for similar offenses, for individual entrepreneurs — from 10 to 150, and for legal entities - from 20 to 200. For each felled New Year's tree with a diameter of up to 12 cm at the stump, the perpetrators will be obliged to compensate for the damage caused to the environment in the amount of 0.2 base value, as well as the cost of the tree itself, if it is impossible to remove it, 1 base value. Thus, the minimum penalty for 1 New Year tree will be 6.2 basic values, or 179 rubles. 80 kopecks. As you can see, the unauthorized cutting down of a New Year's spruce or pine tree can cost much more than the amount of its purchase in the forestry or at the Christmas market.

 

     Dmitry Vasilyevich Shcherba, Engineer for the protection and protection of the forest Kobrin experimental forestry.