When the news was posted that the Defra Secretary of State has overturned the Dartmoor Review recommendation to protect pony numbers on Dartmoor, and handed that responsibility to Natural England instead, some suggested writing to their Borough Council around Dartmoor/Devon, or their MP wherever you are.  We think this is a great idea.  We urge you all to write and, as we are all busy people, we have written a template letter for you to use and adapt.  It takes only the time to find the right email address, cut, paste, send.  

You can find your MP's contact here:   https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons

You can find your Borough Council here:
https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council

And here is a template to use, or adapt however you wish:

I am writing to ask you to write to Steve Barclay, Secretary of State and ask him to reconsider his recent response to the Dartmoor Review.  He has put Dartmoor’s herds of semi-wild Dartmoor Hill Ponies in danger and I will not stand by and watch the sight of these precious ponies disappear from Dartmoor.  They are already officially classed as Endangered.  Please would you represent me?  
 
In the recently published Defra response to the Dartmoor Review recommendations, Mr Barclay refuses to uphold the recommendation that “…Natural England should not take actions likely to result in a decline in pony numbers”.  Instead, he places responsibility for how many Rare and Endangered Semi-wild Dartmoor Hill Ponies are allowed to stand on Dartmoor firmly in the hands of Natural England:  “Commoners … need to gain consent for any operations requiring Natural England’s consent listed on a SSSI designation, such as grazing”. 
 
Given that the recent Dartmoor Review was sparked by Natural England demanding a 50-90% reduction in animals on Dartmoor 18 months ago, these are not safe hands In which to place the future of these ponies.  We face a real and imminent risk of losing the iconic sight of ponies on Dartmoor. 
 
Defra has improved the design of new agri-environment schemes to help support Dartmoor’s pony herds, including them in grazing and native supplements.  But, all of this positive work is a complete waste of time if 50%, or any, have to be culled to satisfy Natural England’s demand for livestock reductions. Vast tracts of Dartmoor are undergrazed and there is room to keep the 1000 Semi-wild Dartmoor Hill Ponies that remain. Please ask him to move to uphold the recommendations of the Dartmoor Review Panel, which were based on evidence submitted by all local stakeholders (including Natural England): he has the legal ability to guide or direct Natural England under paras 14 and 15 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

Once the ponies are removed from Dartmoor, we will never be able to replicate a Dartmoor Hill Pony, because, it has evolved over thousands of years to survive on Dartmoor, with its rare genetics and inherent knowledge of how to survive. This is the right animal in the right place do not let it become extinct.