With the onset of the New Year holidays, illegal felling of Christmas trees is intensifying in Ukraine, for which violators face significant fines and even criminal liability in case of significant damage. This is reported by the press service of the Forests of Ukraine.

The amount of the fine for illegal felling depends on the diameter of the tree in the bark near the root collar and the place of violation. Thus, for Christmas trees under 41 years old, the following is provided: up to 10 cm - 893 UAH (in reserves 7.6 thousand UAH); 10.1–14 cm - 1.5 thousand UAH (in reserves 13.3 thousand UAH); 14.1–18 cm - over 4 thousand UAH (in reserves 34.7 thousand UAH). The press service emphasizes that in December and January, fines increase three times.

In cases where the damage from illegal logging exceeds 30.2 thousand UAH, criminal liability is provided. This means that the violator may incur serious punishment not only financially, but also in the form of restriction of liberty.

To avoid violations, it is worth checking the legality of the Christmas tree. Legal trees are marked with special tags with a barcode or self-adhesive labels. Each legal Christmas tree has the appropriate marking, confirming its legal origin. You can check the data online on the website by entering the code from the tag or adhesive tape, after which the system will provide information about the origin and size of the tree.

“Forests of Ukraine” actively protects coniferous plantations during the Christmas and New Year period. Over 7.8 million trees grow on 2.7 thousand hectares of special plantations. 295 mobile raid groups of almost 1,000 forestry workers have been created to monitor conservation. During 385 joint raids, 34 cases of illegal logging were detected, 28 administrative protocols were drawn up for the amount of over 14 thousand UAH.

The largest number of violations was recorded in Kharkiv, Volyn and Poltava regions. At the same time, no violations were detected in most regions, which indicates the effectiveness of measures to protect coniferous plantations during the period of increased risk. Strengthening control and legal marking of trees help ensure the preservation of Christmas trees and a safe celebration for all Ukrainians.