DRIVERS on Dartmoor are being urged to keep to the 40 mph speed limit after a foal died following horrific injuries. The four-month-old foal had to be put down after a collision with a car at Devil?s Elbow on the Yelverton to Princetown road on Tuesday night last week. It had suffered a smashed shoulder, leg and head injuries. Maureen Rolls, founder of South West Equine Protection, said: ?When it tried to get up it gave a horrendous cry. The vet couldn?t arrive for over an hour and we had to hold it down in the dark. ?The mare was running around distressed and afraid to come near because of cars. ?Passing motorists stopped, and we had to explain the pony had to be put down because of the horrendous extent of the injuries, not because of money. ?It was very traumatic for the animals and for a lot of people.? Maureen, who lives near Princetown, said many accidents involving ponies could be prevented, or damage lessened, if people kept to the speed limit. ?As I drive across the moors at just under the 40 mph speed limit you can guarantee everyone behind me will go past,? she said. ?There is a very good reason for the limit. If they went slower it would give them time to anticipate and brake. It?s like they?re playing dodgems with the animals.? Maureen said the animals belong to the Dartmoor Commoners and any collision should be reported to the police. Many drivers leave the scene without doing so, which she said she considered to be ?hit and run?. Another danger was encouraging ponies to come to cars to feed them or take photographs, which meant the ponies were losing their fear of roads and cars and were in danger from passing traffic, Maureen said. She urged people to park and walk away from their cars so ponies were not attracted to them.
