Keir Starmer 'will not allow' mass cull of Dartmoor ponies

Sir Keir Starmer "will not allow" a mass cull of Dartmoor's iconic wild ponies, which have inhabited the moorland for over 3,500 years.

Campaigners have raised alarm that updated restrictions could result in the slaughter of as many as 93 per cent of the approximately 1,000 ponies currently roaming the national park.

The Prime Minister's spokesman confirmed the decision today.

The animals, cared for by local commoners who farm the land, have been exempt from environmental schemes that limit livestock numbers since 1994.

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New proposals would include ponies in these restrictions for the first time.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the proposals as "total madness" after they were first reported earlier this month.

She wrote on social media: "This is total madness from another unaccountable quango. The government must overrule Natural England and stop it immediately.

"Keir Starmer is on his way to making his last acts in office the shameful underfunding of our military and the mass slaughter of Dartmoor ponies."

Farmers who manage the moorland claim that consultations with Defra and Natural England outlined requirements to reduce their livestock by three-quarters.

The commoners have also reported being warned during these discussions that more than nine in 10 ponies could ultimately be affected by the changes.

Charlotte Faulkner, chairman of the Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony group, expressed deep concern about the implications for the animals.

She told The Telegraph: "Not only are you as a farmer reducing your cattle and sheep by 75 per cent, you [now] have to include your ponies. So the ponies have to compete with a cow, with commercial livestock... so they'll always be the first to go."

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Ms Faulkner emphasised the ponies' ancient heritage, acknowledging they have lived on the moor since the Bronze Age and represent "one of the nearest things England has to wild."

She highlighted apparent contradictions among government bodies, noting that one agency requires breeding programmes for endangered animals while another effectively demands that their numbers be drastically reduced.

Natural England has firmly rejected claims that it is pushing for a cull of the ponies.

David Slater, the agency's south-west director, said: "The notion that Natural England is advocating a cull is simply untrue. Dartmoor's unique habitats are in a poor state and grazing by ponies is vital for their recovery."

A statement shared on its website said: "Decisions about which animals are grazed on Dartmoor commons rest with individual landowners and commoners, not with Natural England. Our role is to provide evidence-based advice on how to protect and restore designated habitats."

The organisation maintains it lacks the authority to mandate culling, with decisions resting solely with landowners and commoners.

Labour defence minister Luke Pollard voiced concern that the proposals could create "a financial incentive to prioritise more commercially viable livestock, such as cattle and sheep, over ponies."

He added: "Should this occur, it could cause a cull of up to 90 per cent of the pony population at the annual drift this autumn, pushing the population numbers of an already endangered species further down."

A Defra spokesman said: "Dartmoor ponies are an important part of Dartmoor’s heritage and also key to supporting the habitats of Dartmoor. Natural England are not recommending a cull and this government wouldn’t support one."

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