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'we have reason to believe it was deliberately felled' One look at the base of that trunk and I think you can upgrade that to 'we know it was deliberately felled'.
The paint looks like an indication on how big to make the hinge, which actually suggests someone who "knows what they're supposed to be doing" but not "used to doing it all the time".
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sadly it would be pretty hard to pin this on them. Farmers and field owners get away with almost anything in the UK. Look at the gorse fires or the state of Lough Neagh.
I believe you but I find it hard to imagine that something like this would go without serious consequences. Here in NL cutting down any tree, even if it is on your own land requires a permit. Doing it without a permit to a vandalize a valuable piece of heritage should not be without consequences.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Snark aside: They need to make sure that someone wasn't trying to take down a different tree and made a mistake.
Highly unlikely, that can happen in a dense forest with unmarked trees but this is controlled land and there is only the one tree there in that particular setting. Also: then the tree would have been stripped and removed. Someone just cut it down and ran off.
I mean normally you wouldn't even try, but if you cut a tree like that and stick the two halves back together and support it, could it remain alive?
I know you can graft branches ...
Slightly related: I always get surprised by how "small" Hadrian wall is. I mean, it was just to demarcate tthe point where the barbarians "should not" cross I believe? For sure it wasn't working as a regular wall to stop any invasions.
The wall is nearly 2000 years old. It used to be 15 feet high and 10 feet wide. [1] Nearly everything else that old has fallen down to the foundations. It turns out nature is good at knocking stuff down till it's about a foot high, and then just leaves the footings of all the walls. Plenty of castles and stuff have 1 foot high walls now. Also, people steal the stones to build other stuff. But it's more effort to stea…
Can't be too mad about it though, the wall was probably relatively new to them
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The popularity of that tree predates Instagram. Insta might exacerbate the phenomenon but it's not new. E.g. Rick Steves and Cinque Terre.
As I touched on in another comment, social media is a disproportionate attractor of travelers for many famous locations around the world, especially for those that are "out of the way". In addition, there is an influx of global middle class with the newly found means to travel. Over a billion people in a generation.
Can you put it back together? I mean normally you wouldn't even try, but if you cut a tree like that and stick the two halves back together and support it, could it remain alive? I know you can graft branches ...