This is an urgent call to action. 

Dartmoor stands to lose up to 90% of its iconic semi-wild pony herds thanks to new grazing contracts drawn up by Natural England, which could come into force as early as the end of 2026. 

In the newly negotiated contracts, with drastic reductions in recommended numbers of grazing animals, ponies are included alongside cattle and sheep in total numbers of livestock permitted. This means that ponies will end up competing with cattle and sheep for limited grazing “space” under the new scheme. Commoners will be forced to remove ponies to maximise the number of more commercially viable animals that they will be allowed to graze. 

Ponies are NOT the problem: they are the solution that can help halt and reverse the decline of biodiversity on Dartmoor. 

Natural England’s proposals are intended to protect Dartmoor’s natural habitats and biodiversity. But removing ponies threatens the very biodiversity Natural England are seeking to protect.

In vast areas of Dartmoor, invasive Molinia grass is taking over, choking out native plants and creating a barren monoculture. Ponies eat Molinia grass. The unique way that they graze clears spaces to allow native plant species to recover and thrive, bringing a wealth of invertebrate species with them. 

More ponies, not fewer, are needed on Dartmoor! 

Rare and endangered

Dartmoor’s semi-wild hill ponies are recognised as rare and endangered, and should be protected as such.

In the past 20 years, thousands of ponies have been lost from Dartmoor.

The current population of fewer than 1000 breeding mares is barely enough to maintain their rare and ancient gene pool, which is of value to the global equine species.

Reducing pony numbers further means that the population will no longer be genetically viable and will effectively become extinct. 

Natural England is failing Dartmoor

Until now, Dartmoor’s remaining Hill Ponies have been afforded some protection by being excluded from recommended livestock grazing quotas on Dartmoor.

Now, the very body that exists to protect and enhance England’s wild spaces and the nature that they support is making decisions that go against scientific evidence and will be devastating for the Dartmoor Hill Pony AND Dartmoor’s ecology. 

Once the ponies are gone from the moor, they will be lost forever. We must not let that happen. 

Dartmoor Hill Ponies urgently need your help.

 
 Dartmoor Warriors! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/372630116264467

Read about the ponies here and find out how amazing they are! - https://www.wildtowonderful.org/

E-mail - poniesondartmoor@outlook.com