Dartmoor Hill Pony Association said the move would force commoners, who have rights to put livestock on the commons of the moor, to choose between commercial sheep and cattle, and the ponies for which they have traditionally been guardians.
The loss of hill ponies would be damaging for the biodiversity of the landscape, as they are the best grazer of the “monoculture” Molinia grass that has come to dominate the moor, Joss Hibbs, secretary of the DHPA which represents commoners, said.
She warned that if commoners chose commercial livestock to earn a living, the ponies would be lost, and if they chose the ponies they would become unviable and the farms would go – which would in turn lead to the loss of the ponies which are safeguarded by the farmers.
Hibbs said: “Natural England’s approach will devastate the Dartmoor hill pony population, it will make farms financially unviable and it’s extremely doubtful there will be any environmental benefit.”
Devon-based Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony charity has called for long-term, legal protection of the remaining hill pony herds in recognition of their rare status, and a separate agreed moor-wide herd size, as was in place with previous contracts.
Campaigners also said Natural England should wait for the outcomes of the Land Use Management Group set up to implement the recommendations of a government-commissioned review in 2023, which is drawing up a land use plan for Dartmoor by 2027.
