Devon MP fights 'unnecessary loss' as Dartmoor pony battle escalates

Plymouth Sutton and Devonport MP Luke Pollard has escalated the battle over the future of Dartmoor’s semi-wild hill ponies, taking the issue straight to the top of Government in a bid to halt proposed new environmental contracts.

In an official House of Commons letter to the then-Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Dame Angela Eagle DBE, Mr Pollard warned that newly drafted Natural England grazing rules risk triggering an unintended, catastrophic reduction in the pony population during this autumn’s annual drift.

The high-level intervention marks a major escalation in the row over how livestock numbers are calculated under incoming Environmental Land Management (ELM) and Countryside Stewardship schemes.

Following a ministerial reshuffle just days after the letter was sent, the brief will now sit with newly appointed farming minister Stephen Morgan MP.

At the heart of the MP's warning is a flaw in how the new contracts count livestock units.

Under the proposed rules, semi-wild ponies are grouped into the same overall livestock limits as commercial farm animals.

In his letter to the Minister, dated 10 June 2026, Mr Pollard stated:

"I am deeply concerned that the proposed contracts include ponies within overall livestock unit limits, which risks creating a financial incentive to prioritise more commercially viable livestock, such as cattle and sheep, over ponies.

“Should this occur, it could cause a cull of up to 90% of the pony population at the annual drift this Autumn, pushing the population numbers of an already endangered species further down."

The MP stressed that because commoners will be forced to strictly limit their total animal numbers to qualify for environmental subsidies, they will face direct financial pressure to remove the less profitable ponies to make space for cattle and sheep.

Mr Pollard’s letter puts direct pressure on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to uphold its own policy pledges.

He pointed out that the Government has already accepted the recommendations of the independent Fursdon Review, specifically recommendation 27, which states that ponies and cattle should never be linked when calculating stocking rates.

Calling out Natural England’s current approach, Mr Pollard wrote:

"It is vital that this recommendation is upheld in the new grazing contracts proposed by Natural England."

The MP, who previously campaigned alongside the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association to successfully avert a threatened cull in the autumn of 2024, stated he is determined to protect the species "for generations to come."

To resolve the crisis before the autumn drifts begin, Mr Pollard is now attempting to build a united political front across the county. He has requested an urgent face-to-face meeting with the Minister, writing:

"I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you, along with neighbouring Devon MPs, to discuss this further. I look forward to hearing what steps can be taken... to prevent an unnecessary loss of ponies and to secure the species."

The intervention has been warmly welcomed by local pony advocates, who previously warned The Moorlander that the current herd of fewer than 1,000 breeding mares cannot survive further sweeping reductions.

However, it also brings the MP into direct alignment against Natural England's latest statements, which maintain that livestock choices ultimately lie with individual commoners rather than environmental regulators.