Cutting down Hazels

Cutting down trees seems such an act of wanton vandalism, yet it is necessary, and indeed even prolongs their lives. Coppicing a Hazel will extend its life from possibly a hundred years as an uncoppiced tree to more than a thousand years. My hundred Hazels have been growing in their present swathe for about twelve years, and are becoming long and spindly with leaves only being produced in their upper reaches where the light falls on them. So we are having a major cutback to allow more light in to the remaining ones, and simultaneously allowing the shorn ones to send up new straight shoots from their stumps.