THE Dartmoor Commoners' Council has a very active pony working party with its members keeping various types of ponies ie Dartmoor Hill, Heritage, pedigree Dartmoor and Shetland ponies. All contribute to a vast pool of knowledge on how to address issues relating to ponies on Dartmoor. Over the last 12 months a lot of work has been put into extra drifts and the removal of unmarked ponies from the most difficult and inaccessible areas of Dartmoor. The council is constantly working with its fellow commoners to address the pony population through encouraging pony keepers to keep fewer mares whilst at the same time making sure graziers are not exceeding the number of ponies they are legally allowed to graze on the commons. It is the farmers who have kept ponies for many generations that understand the problems and seek practical solutions. There are fewer stallions and mares on the moor than in previous years and some commoners are trialling their mares with the contraceptive pill and some are running vasectomised stallions. The council believes a number of factors have to be addressed and that a simple solution may not easily be found. For example simply removing stallions may have further implications not immediately obvious to those not used to the complexities of moorland grazing, including: l Herds on the moor need replacement foals to replace the old mares, and ponies involved in road traffic accidents, of which there are many and not every mare will breed. l Without foals there would be little need for the pony drifts undertaken by pony keepers. The drifts enable the old, thin, sick, lame mares to be fond and treated. l Stallions play a very important part in herding, keeping their mares in the right territory (lears) — this could see the demise of a very old Dartmoor tradition. l Foals cannot be bought in from other parts of the country because they have to breed in their lears on Dartmoor. Stallion inspection schemes ensures mares maintain a healthy herd to withstand the terrain and weather conditions and do not breed poor conformation foals. The number of ponies on the moor is declining. Ponies are hugely important to Dartmoor providing benefits to its biodiversity through grazing, a significant tourist attraction and as part of the heritage and culture of the area. It is the council's intention for ponies to have a safe and secure future on Dartmoor. The Dartmoor Commoners' Council has a committed Livestock Welfare Officer who deals with the many day to day welfare issues relating to ponies, sheep and cattle. Your readers should be assured the Dartmoor Commoners' Council carefully considers all new information and is encouraging the trialling of different approaches in parts of the moor. It understands that it is a complex issue but we do have the ponies' best interest at heart. Dartmoor Commoners' Council AS a local resident I am constantly seeing people bringing their children on to Dartmoor to see the ponies. It is one thing to view the ponies from a distance but recently I have been seeing people allowing their children to get 'up close' to these wild animals and their foals — teaching the animals that people and cars are friends! But it is not only children — the other day I saw a group of people, old enough to know better, taking 'selfies' with the animals. These are wild animals, not fluffy pets, when will people learn? These people who are 'socialising' with these beautiful wild animals should feel responsible for taming them and resulting in their deaths as the animals then think humans and cars are safe, which they are not as people still don't observe the 40mph speed limit on Dartmoor — but that is another issue in itself! When will people learn that Dartmoor ponies are not toys. They are beautiful and should be admired from a distance. Louise Street Tavistock