CHAGFORD 2023

- Footage shows appalling conditions at the sale.
- Mud coated foal shivering with cold trying to find food to keep warm.
- Footage of pony being punched twice by a handler and another is hit in the face whilst being moved around sale complex.

This year there were two Dartmoor Chagford pony sales - the second being held during storm Ciaran.

Our footage from the sale has just been released - https://www.facebook.com/People4ponies/videos/3706090789669791 A frightened pony being punched twice by a handler who was moving ponies around the market on the day. Footage of the mud soaked foal shivering with cold and desperately trying to find food in an effort to get warm. A pony being hit in the face whilst being moved. Also video of the general conditions in the pens/alleyways and generally underfoot.

It wasn't just this foal shivering either - other ponies and the donkeys (the donkeys were a couple of the few animals who actually had been provided with hay) were also seen to be shivering with cold.

The time of the sale, or the day or the sale could have been changed by the organisers - it was a well forecast storm - but they pushed ahead regardless.

The sale was held during one of the most powerful and destructive storms to hit the UK in many years. Yellow weather warnings for wind and rain were issued, updated to an Amber warning for wind in Devon and Cornwall, which could result in danger to life. Devon and Cornwall Police advised drivers "to only travel if absolutely necessary". The pony sale could not logically be considered an absolute necessity.

None of this is acceptable to us - please continue to help spreading the word by sharing our Facebook post above and the petition!