https://www.facebook.com/groups/dartmoorwarriors
133,000 signatures. 🐴🌿
We honestly cannot thank every single one of you enough for the incredible support this campaign continues to receive. What started as people simply speaking up for the Dartmoor Hill Ponies has now become a national conversation about biodiversity, heritage, and the future of Dartmoor itself 💚
Over the past week, awareness has continued to grow rapidly. We have now received coverage from local and national media, supporters have been out at events handing out leaflets, and thousands more people are learning what is happening to these ancient semi wild ponies.
But despite the growing public concern, the core issue remains unchanged.
The proposed grazing contracts could still lead to reductions of 67–92% in the Dartmoor Hill Pony population.
These ponies are already endangered. Their numbers have fallen from around 6000 ponies to fewer than 1000 breeding mares in just 25 years. Once these bloodlines and semi wild herds are lost, they cannot simply be recreated.
The 2023 Defra-commissioned Dartmoor Review found that much of Dartmoor is already undergrazed and suffering from invasive Molinia grass spread. Research has shown Dartmoor Hill Ponies play an important role in controlling Molinia and supporting biodiversity across the moor.
That is why so many people are asking the same question:
Why are decisions that could drastically reduce these ponies being pushed forward BEFORE the Dartmoor Land Use Management Group has completed its work on establishing the correct grazing levels for Dartmoor in 2027?
This campaign is not about conflict. It is about asking for transparency, evidence-based policy, and meaningful long-term protection for the last truly semi wild pony population in England.
Every signature, share, comment, conversation, and letter genuinely matters. Public awareness is growing because of all of you.
- Please keep sharing the petition.
- Please keep talking about the ponies.
- Please keep helping us make sure they are not quietly lost
- .Thank you for standing with the Dartmoor Hill Ponies 🐴🌿