Dartmoor Pony Populations Protected at Current Levels Under New Policy

Ministers announced that Dartmoor hill pony populations will be protected at their current levels. The Environment Department said ponies will be removed from stocking rate calculations in new contracts from Natural England, so farmers will not have to choose between keeping ponies and maintaining sheep or cattle. Pony numbers will be monitored across the moor to ensure they remain stable.

A pony supplement will also be added to farming schemes to remove any financial incentive to reduce populations. GB News reported that the changes address earlier concerns from campaigners that requirements to cut grazing could have led to the removal of up to 90 per cent of hill ponies.

Natural England Chief Executive Marian Spain said the policy changes will enable work with farmers to secure agreements needed to recover nature on Dartmoor.

She added that the agency has always viewed the ponies as central to shaping the landscape and supporting nature. Chairman of the Dartmoor Land Use Management Group Phil Stocker said the announcement gives pony keepers reassurance that native populations are a valued part of the ecology and culture of Dartmoor.

Head of Operations at the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust Catherine Anderson said the group is very happy with the proposed way forward and that payments will create a huge incentive for farmers to retain ponies on the common.

The supplement will also apply to eligible pony grazing on other upland areas in England, including Exmoor and the Cumbrian Fells. A Defra spokesman said today's announcement takes forward a recommendation from the Fursdon Review published in 2023, which called for ponies and cattle to be treated separately when calculating livestock stocking rates under government farming schemes.