Do commoner's rights exist in your country?

@urbandekay (18278)
October 11, 2011 12:47pm CST
Where I live, commoner's rights are enshrined in the deeds of the house; these confer on the householder the right to collect timber and graze animals on the common. Do you have similar laws there? all the best urban
4 responses
@veganbliss (3895)
• Adelaide, Australia
11 Oct 11
We do have English Common Law down here. I'm not sure to what extent these laws apply to the collection of firewood & the grazing of animals though - especially here in the semi-rural suburbs. Maybe I should try them out & see what happens? I'm sure my pet cockatiel would love to go on a grazing expedition, but so would the nearest cat, dog, hawk or eagle. I'll have to & check what other rights we have to the common land here. I know of several community gardens projects which have been operating for many years whereby residents who contribute get a portion of the garden's produce, come the harvest. Do they have these running in England too?
@urbandekay (18278)
12 Oct 11
Yes, we have community garden projects here. Mind you part of my manifesto is that every one must cultivate a small area of land or pay someone to do it for you all the best urban
• Adelaide, Australia
12 Oct 11
That's the spirit! Organic too, I'll wager - following in the example of Prince Charles' Organic Garden?
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
11 Oct 11
So do you actually make use of your rights? They tend to have delightful names like 'turbary' and 'estovers' and 'firebote'. I suspect that you live in the New Forest where there are still many of such old rights still included in the deeds of the property. One that I particularly liked was the right to own a property provided that you could erect a permanent structure in a day and have smoke coming out of the chimney. I am not sure of the details but I believe that it still applies to some common land in Worcestershire.
@urbandekay (18278)
11 Oct 11
New Forest? Guess again. Yes, collect wood but haven't grazed an animal - yet all the best urban
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
11 Oct 11
We may have such laws but don't call it the way you call it in your country. All citizens in my country are treated equally and share the same laws. The government issue licenses for people to collect time or other things.
@urbandekay (18278)
11 Oct 11
You can collect time? Amazing! all the best urban
@petersum (4522)
• United States
11 Oct 11
Interesting question. It is an English thing of course. The Scots have grazing rights but it isn't quite the same thing. Now I will have to research to see if Greece has such rights.