England's wildlife watchdog points out major flaw in Dartmoor pony cull

1 sources2 storiesFirst seen 6/17/2026Score40Breakthrough

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Whitehall has been accused of misleading the public with "disingenuous" denials of plans to cull Dartmoor's iconic ponies.

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Natural England (NE), a Government quango responsible for nature conservation, issued a denial of all allegations after the threat to the ponies was revealed last week.

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The dispute hinges on NE's Countryside Stewardship scheme, which would reduce the overall number of animals grazing Dartmoor by up to 89 per cent, with ponies included in the overall livestock total for the first time.Campaigners say this will make the ponies "economically unviable", with farmers forced to prioritise more profitable cattle and sheep.

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TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Campaigners warn this will effectively end the wild pony population by up to 91 per cent.There are currently around 1,000 breeding animals - already considered the bare minimum for a sustainable population.But the quango denied it had called for a cull, instead saying it did not have the power to order one and had not...

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The English wildlife watchdog has pointed out a significant flaw in a potential plan to cull Dartmoor ponies.Campaigners say requirements to cut livestock grazing on the moor's commons under new contracts from the Government's conservation agency quango Natural England could lead to the removal of up to 90 per cent of its hill ponies, which would likely have to be culled.The Conservatives have been leading protests against the plans, while local Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden warned that the plans could lead to the "near elimination" of ponies on the moor.However, sources within Natural England insisted it is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) policy at fault, as it fails to differentiate between sheep and ponies.

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TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say The source said while sheep tend to eat the more important plants, horses are better at stripping the moor of unpalatable vegetation, such as molinia grass and gorse, both of which swamp the peat bogs and...

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A: TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Campaigners warn this will effectively end the wild pony population by up to 91 per cent.There are currently around 1,000 breeding animals - already considered the bare minimum for a sustainable population.But the quango denied it had called for a cull, instead saying it did not have the power to order one and had not...

B: TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say The source said while sheep tend to eat the more important plants, horses are better at stripping the moor of unpalatable vegetation, such as molinia grass and gorse, both of which swamp the peat bogs and...