Keir Starmer's promise to protect British national treasure on brink of 'extinction level event' slammed as 'not good enough' by Labour MPs

Sir Keir Starmer's promise to protect the rare Dartmoor pony who is said to be on the brink of an "extinction level event" has been slammed as "not good enough" by Labour MPs.

The outgoing Prime Minister made assurances two weeks ago he "would not allow" the culling of the semi-wild ponies in Devon, however, since then there has been no further progress made on saving the animals.

Natural England (NE), a Government quango responsible for nature conservation, has set up a scheme which aims to reduce the number of animals in Dartmoor by up to 89 per cent, with the ponies included in the figures for the first time.

The proposal is to reduce overgrazing on the national park in Devon.

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On June 16, two days before the Makerfield by-election, Sir Keir said he would block NE from culling the Dartmoor ponies, but since then, there has been silence on the matter.

The lack of movement from the Prime Minister was predicted by Facts4EU's Chairman, who said at the time: "Announcing a vote-friendly policy two days before a by-election isn't the same as implementing it."

Two Labour MPs have expressed their condemnation over the possible pony cull.

Steve Race MP for Exeter and Luke Pollard MP for Plymouth said in a joint statement: "It’s not good enough for Natural England to say ‘we’re not ordering a cull’, but on the other hand their policies would lead to that outcome.

"The problem here is the lack of clarity from Natural England."

A public petition which has sourced over 200,000 signatures has not rallied Sir Keir and NE to make any changes to the scheme.

Campaigners say the proposals will make the ponies "economically unviable", with farmers forced to prioritise more profitable cattle and sheep.

They warn this will effectively end the wild pony population by up to 91 per cent.

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There are currently around 1,000 breeding animals - already considered the bare minimum for a sustainable population.

NE has denied it had called for a cull, instead saying it did not have the power to order one and had not advised one.

Facts4EU, The Campaign for an Independent Britain, and Stand for Our Sovereignty shot back at NE's denial, calling it an “entirely false proposition”.

They wrote: “No-one ever said NE recommended a cull. It is simply an inevitable and irreversible consequence of NE's policies, as they well know, that pony numbers will reduce far below sustainable levels."

The issue for the semi-wild ponies, who are actually all privately owned, is they have little commercial value to those who farm on the park.

There is a large sheep population in Dartmoor (145,000-strong), to which farmers sell in the lamb market.

If the already financially struggling farmers are ordered by NE to reduce their livestock numbers, it is argued they will cull the ponies due to their lack of commercial value.

The removal of the Basic Payments Scheme in 2022 already caused a 41 per cent plunge in net farm business income for Dartmoor farmers.

An independent inquiry in 2025 found farmers "do not know how they are going to make up for the loss”.

Former minister Lord Redwood told GB News NE's environmental targets had effectively become "a death warrant for excess livestock" and questioned the logic of cutting domestic animal farming while simply shifting production and emissions overseas.

He said: "Cutting cattle and sheep at home will not save the planet.

“We will import more meat and dairy instead, adding food miles and diesel transport emissions to the total.

“The ponies on our moors will be collateral damage as they are removed to cut CO2 and to alter the nature of the moors."

The Dartmoor ponies have grazed the moor since the Bronze Age and one of the many ironies highlighted by campaigners is they are the only animal capable of eating the invasive Molinia grass that is currently destroying parts of the moorland.

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