Whitehall accused of misleading public with 'disingenuous' denials of Dartmoor pony cull plans

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

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.

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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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 advised one.

Facts4EU, The Campaign for an Independent Britain, and Stand for Our Sovereignty have now shot back at Natural England’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.

Ben Philips, the deputy chairman and communications director of Brexit Facts4EU, described NE's statement as "the most extraordinary example of disingenuous, Sir Humphrey-style mandarin-speak, designed to mislead and defend the indefensible at all costs”.

The agency also denied it was trying to remove ponies from Dartmoor.

It said it supported the independent Fursdon Review, which found the ponies were "invaluable for conservation grazing and genetically important".

The review specifically recommended ponies and cattle "should not be linked for the calculation of stocking rates”.

Campaigners pointed out the contradiction, saying Natural England claimed to support the report while simultaneously ignoring its core findings.

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Downing Street then weighed in on the issue, with the Prime Minister's spokesman saying Sir Keir Starmer "would not allow" the culling of the ponies.

However, no details of any policy change have been released, and campaign groups have warned positive headlines must now be "translated into action”.

Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony said: "We now look to the Government for detail on the direction it will give Natural England to remedy the current situation, and for clarity on what will change in practice."

They demanded to know what specific changes would be made to NE's approach and how the endangered semi-wild pony population would be protected in perpetuity.

The Facts4EU deputy chairman said: "Announcing a vote-friendly policy two days before a by-election isn't the same as implementing it."

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."

Lord Redwood also highlighted the apparent contradictions within NE's own environmental record, noting that despite a staff of almost 3,000 and numerous senior executives on six-figure salaries, the agency last year failed to hit its own CO2 reduction targets.

The quango generated more waste than it pledged to reduce and had 80 per cent of its fleet running on petrol and diesel vehicles.

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.

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”.

A public petition opposing the plans has now gathered more than 130,000 signatures.

Campaigners have called on the Government to implement any U-turn immediately and in full, warning that any delay of up to a year could prove fatal for the species.

GB News has approached Natural England for further comment.

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