STRENGTHENED measures on the import of most species of oak into England are to be introduced to protect native trees from the threat of the tree pest Oak Processionary Moth (OPM).

The bolstered measures will only permit imports of certain oak trees, including: those from OPM-free countries; those from designated pest-free areas including Protected Zones (PZ) – an area of the European Union declared free of OPM and those that have been grown under complete physical protection for their lifetime.

This Statutory Instrument (SI) builds on measures introduced in August 2018 and applies to all oak trees, except cork oak, over a certain size. This is because these trees represent the greatest likelihood of introducing OPM into the UK PZ, as they are more susceptible to pest populations and more difficult to inspect.

The restrictions will cover both imports from overseas and the movement of trees from areas of the country where OPM is already present – London and surrounding counties, as well as Wales, where four trees planted near Cardiff Central Station have been affected.

Biosecurity Minister Lord Gardiner said: “Biosecurity is absolutely key to everything we do and we must to do more to stop pests and diseases crossing continents and borders. That is why as a country we have more protected zones than anywhere else in the EU.

“It is essential that we further strengthen our import controls on oak trees. These new measures will ensure robust protections for our oak trees from pests such as the oak processionary moth.”

Nicola Spence, DEFRA chief plant health officer, said: “Since 2012 we have invested more than £37 million in tree health research, including a dedicated programme of research and development on oak.

“We will continue to work with local authorities and land managers to tackle OPM in areas where it is present with a control programme of treatment and surveillance. These strengthened measures will help protect against further arrivals of the pest on our shores.

“The Plant Health Service has received reports of an exceptional expansion of the OPM population in parts of Europe due to the hot weather experienced last year.”