COUNTRYFILE viewers have complained about the latest forest scenes in the BBC show, calling them "vile" and "disgusting".
In the most recent episode of popular factual programme, hosts Margherita Taylor and Joe Crowley explored Sherwood Forest.
Joe looked into why Sherwood has a missing generation of oaks – and how premature ageing is helping to fill the gap.
The segment had viewers outraged as they watched Joe and the experts chopping the trees in the forest with a sledgehammer — a practise they refer to as "veteranisation."
Joe spoke with Chloe Ryder, the forest's site manager, about the long-term benefits of tree veteranisation.
Joe explained to viewers: "Since the late Medieval Ages, countless numbers of oak trees in woods like Sherwood have been cut down for timber.
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"From shipbuilding for our naval fleets to forming the roof of St. Paul's Cathedral and industrialising Britain, this activity has left a gap in the generations.
Joe explained to BBC viewers that this meant there weren't enough "mature trees" growing to replace the 1% of old oak trees in Sherwood that "naturally die" off each year, so the balance of the forest is "under threat".
For those watching at home, the presenter explained that the Sherwood team was working to save trees and had adopted a method called veteranisation – in order to start the process of decay and ‘ageing’.
Chloe then began: "Around us you'll be able to see some trees that have only had one or two branches taken off, other things like aerial ring barking we do or pretend lightning strikes or even replicating horse damage or deer rubbing against the bottoms of trees."
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Joe then went to a single oak tree with a sledgehammer, and said: "Very dramatic isn't it?"
However, viewers were outraged by the episode, labelling it "vile" and "disgusting" and accusing the experts of "killing the trees" on Twitter.
One raged: "Stupid idiots! They're killing all our trees."
Another fumed: "These absolute fools damaging these oaks, nothing more than criminal damage."
A third added: "How are they casually just cutting these trees. This is vile."
A fourth complained: "It's just disgusting what they are doing to these trees, is this some sort of joke?"
Countryfile is available to watch on BBC One on Sunday at 6pm.
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