PONIES lives continue to be endangered by careless visitors on Dartmoor who are feeding them and even riding them, despite widespread safety advice.

Animal welfare bodies and animal owners report an increase in incidences of people ignoring or being unaware of many warning signs across the moor advising them to not approach the ponies and their foals, let alone feed them unsuitable food.

The annual influx of visitors during the summer holiday raises the risk to ponies and especially ponies who can get a potentially fatal illness of spasmodic colic which is caused by unnatural diets such as human food or an excess of carrots or apples.

Not only do the ponies (which are feral, but all privately owned), get ill, but they are more likely to be hit and injured or killed by traffic when lured to the roadside by people as they come to expect to be fed from cars.

Dartmoor National Park Authority bylaws forbid the feeding of animals lawfully grazing the moors. The authority says the ponies give the moorland its character and have lived on Dartmoor since prehistoric times.

The ponies are very hardy and actually thrive on Dartmoor despite the harsh weather and poor vegetation. In fact, by grazing the moorland they play a vital role in maintaining a variety of habitats and supporting wildlife.

Karla McKechnie, of Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society (DLPS), said: ‘There are lots of people who come to Dartmoor for the first time during the holidays at this time of year. They come to the moor to see the ponies as a major part of their day out but the ponies are semi-wild animals and not pets.

‘They may roam freely, but they’re are all owned by somebody. So, all these people who feed them and pet them and even put their children on their backs, don’t have a right do so. However, the pony has the right to take action if it doesn’t want someone on their backs and a kick from their rear legs can be very painful.’

Visitors could also be hurt because the ponies are not tamed and should not be approached, also many increasingly expect to be fed and can get aggressive if they do not get what they want.

She added: ‘The only food the ponies should be eating is natural herbage and grass that what Dartmoor offers them. People who think they’re treating the ponies by giving them what they think they might like, such as apples and carrots or even human food like picnic sandwiches are actually harming them. They can develop colic which can be fatal and at the least very uncomfortable.’

Karla also stressed the need to take home rubbish such as plastic and cardboard which can be eaten by ponies and harm them.

Mary Alford, pony owner, said it was difficult to treat semi-wild ponies on the open moor if they become ill: ‘So, it is effectively a death sentence to feed them snacks because they become used to it and constantly stand by the side of the road waiting for snacks and are killed or seriously injured in car accidents.’

Karla McKechnie, DLPS Livestock Protection Officer, is on 24/7 duty. She can be contacted on 07873587561.