Petition to help put ponies on the pill

THE Dartmoor Hill Pony Association has come up with a modern solution to some of the threats facing the moor's ponies — contraception.

The Association is co-ordinating a project to allow mares to continue to run on the moors with stallions, living naturally in herds but without reproducing, by administering an equine version of the contraceptive pill.

Ponies have grazed on the moor longer than history records go back.

They have played a big role in controlling the spread of bracken and gorse, helping to create an environment where all kinds of wildlife can thrive.

A reaction to the recession, the cost of compulsory microchipping and passporting, and EU transport regulations mean the demand for these strong, hardy ponies has plummeted.

At the annual autumn pony sale in Chagford in October, fewer than a third of the 158 ponies found a buyer.

The first 30 ponies through the sale ring failed to raise a single bid, despite prices starting at ten guineas (£10.50).

The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association has suggested that too many foals are being born on the moor, with hundreds being destroyed each year.

The DHPA is aiming to control indiscriminate breeding with a contraception programme.

The first trial of 'ponies on the pill' has proven a resounding success, with a herd of 20 mares running with a stallion without producing foals.

To develop this promising scheme, land is urgently required and Charlotte Faulkner, secretary of the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association and founder of Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Ponies, has identified suitable moorland near Postbridge, where the ponies can be monitored and the land carefully managed.

Charlotte is hoping to persuade the Forestry Commission, which is responsible for the land, to lease it and has raised an online petition for people to click on to. The petition already has more than 2,000 signatures.

Charlotte said: 'This is the time for the Forestry Commission to show that it cares about the environment and our National Parks.

'We have received enthusiastic support from Natural England, World Horse Welfare and the Dartmoor Commoners' Council and we appeal to the Forestry Commission to join forces with us to safeguard the future of our native ponies.'

To register your support, go to http://www.change.org/en-GB/allow-the-friends-of-the-dartmoor-hill-pony-to-use-lakehead-newtake-for-their-project-to-save-the-ponies-on-dartmoor">www.change.org/en-GB/allow-the-friends-of-the-dartmoor-hill-pony-to-use-lakehead-newtake-for-their-project-to-save-the-ponies-on-dartmoor