The Act on Plant Pests provides the Danish legal framework for preventing, controlling, and eradicating plant pests and diseases that may harm agricultural production. The law authorizes the Minister for Environment and Food to establish rules to stop the introduction and spread of harmful organisms (excluding vertebrates), including through quarantine, restrictions on planting, movement, and destruction of infected plants or materials. It allows for inspections, mandatory reporting of pest findings, and enforcement actions, including access to private property without a court order if necessary.
The act also addresses compensation and liability: while the state may compensate losses from the destruction of uninfected materials, costs for complying with pest control orders usually fall to the landowner or operator. It sets out penalties for non-compliance and provides mechanisms for administrative delegation, appeals, and coordination with EU plant health rules. The law, originally enacted in 1984, has been amended several times and was consolidated in 2017, with the latest changes integrated until it was repealed as of January 1, 2022.