#ponyhour

Follow @aponyhour & use #ponyhour for RTs throughout the week

[Steve Race MP 💙💛 @steveracemp]

If Natural England won’t deliver on the Fursdon Review, removing ponies from general livestock numbers, then Govt should directly instruct them to do so.

My comments to Alicia at @itvwestcountry on the Dartmoor ponies, in support of @ponykeepersDTMR & @DartmoorHillies.

[Dartmoor Hill Pony Assoc @ponykeepersDTMR]

@jm0ses The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association response to claims that the threat to semi-wild Dartmoor Hill Ponies is fake news. 3 pages.

[Dartmoor Hill Pony Assoc @ponykeepersDTMR]

Fabulous article in @ConversationUK regarding the situation in which the Dartmoor Hill Pony finds itself:
https://t.co/Npt22ooMHB

[Rebecca Smith MP @SWDevonRebecca]

Lord Roborough is a farmer and land owner on Dartmoor in my South West Devon constituency. His question highlights the key issue which both Natural England and the government are skirting.

[Sam Dumitriu @Sam_Dumitriu]

Is Natural England allergic to accountability?

One of the biggests problems with the modern British state is the sheer lack of accountability.

Almost every day officials make decisions that they would struggle to defend on their merits. Yet, there is no decision maker that can be held accountable.

Natural England is the best example. Whether it is blocking a new town (to save a jumping spider), delaying a nuclear plant (to save a few salmon), or potentially culling 90% of Dartmoor's semi-wild hill ponies, they never take responsibility for the inevitable consequences of their actions.

They hide behind process and they attribute every perverse outcome to people trying to build (or farm).

What they neglect to mention is that their rules make these choices inevitable. Take the infamous bat tunnel.

HS2's £100m bat tunnel was the only, of 17 mitigations, that met Natural England's requirements. The choice was a bat tunnel, completely changing the route, or cancelling the project.

Natural England say they're just doing their jobs and following the law. But, if so, then the law's an ass and needs to change.

We need to make sure decision makers are accountable and have the legitimacy to make the right choice.

https://t.co/aWylaDcz26

[Rebecca Smith MP @SWDevonRebecca]

Excellent summary and highlights the point I’ve been making about Natural England making decisions ahead of the DEFRA authorised Dartmoor Land Use Management Group reporting back. So much work being done behind the scenes locally.

[Rebecca Smith MP @SWDevonRebecca]

Spot on.

[Dartmoor Hill Pony Assoc @ponykeepersDTMR]

Sadly, @ChrisGPackham Tony's misinterpreted the stocking calendar data. We refute the assertions of the Alliance. See comments:

[Matt Chorley @MattChorley]

Chief Executive of Natural England, Marian Spain, admitted to me @bbc5live that new proposals could lead to a reduction of ponies on Dartmoor.

Natural England is including the ponies in livestock counts under its new moorland agri-environmental schemes that provide payments for farmers for grazing upland in ways that benefit nature.

When I asked if what was being proposed could to lead to a reduction in ponies on Dartmoor, Marian Spain said, 'it could do.'

"It could do because if you're a businessman if you are a farmer and you have to reduce some of your livestock you may well choose to reduce the stock make you the least money what we are keen to do is make sure that doesn't happen there are supplements available in some of these schemes there's a pony and cattle supplement, there's a native breed supplement, so we're working to make sure that farmers don't choose to get rid of the ponies that are given the right incentive so they keep the ponies."

She also said:
"It's not about reducing the number of stock on Dartmoor, It's about changing the grazing patterns. And farmers are choosing to enter schemes and are being given financial compensation, given money by the government for making those grazing changes. But we absolutely hear the concern that we need to do that in a way that keeps the ponies as well as keeping the cattle and as well keeping the right levels of sheep."

[Dartmoor Hillies @DartmoorHillies]

It would be a bitter irony if the ponies on Dartmoor that can help restore damaged landscapes were lost because environmental policymakers failed to recognise their value https://t.co/L39eEcwY7j #dartmoor #ponies

[Caroline Scott Collins, Writer @caroscottcolli]

More info about the Dartmoor Ponies.

[Ollie Lash-Williams @OllieLashW]

The best summary of the Dartmoor Pony scandal out there. Natural England are not calling directly for a cull of ponies, but it’s very clear their policy will cause it - and their CEO has admitted as much on BBC radio. #SaveaPony

[TallysMum 🌼🌳🪻💕 @heartwhole24]

Dartmoor’s Hill Ponies face extinction. They need YOUR help now. - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/a6vkx0f8y7 via @UKChange

[Dartmoor Hillies @DartmoorHillies]

Luke Pollard MP: ‘I will fight for Dartmoor’s semi-wild ponies’ https://t.co/wk3D6gYZew @LukePollard 🙏 #dartmoor #ponies

[Nikki Page @Nikkipage44]

So what are you actually going to do to stop this @Keir_Starmer @Ed_Miliband ???

@KemiBadenoch

[Horse & Hound @horseandhound]

‘How will the Dartmoor hill ponies be protected?’ Prime minister insists cull will not happen after condemnation – but campaigners await confirmation https://t.co/w3LuphfBiA

[Dartmoor Hill Pony Assoc @ponykeepersDTMR]

The petition by @DartmoorHillies to stop semiwild Dartmoor Hill Ponies being cleared from our commons is at 170,000 and rising.
https://t.co/ZbFlmdUdKS

[Dartmoor Hillies @DartmoorHillies]

What a week! From local campaign to national headlines, volunteers worked tirelessly to put the Dartmoor Hill Pony in the spotlight. Despite recent developments, there are still no written guarantees for their future. The fight isn’t over yet! 🙏@steveracemp @LukePollard #ponies

[Dr Adrian Colston @Dartmoor_AC]

https://t.co/hnG5fa26Gv

[Fiona @Fiona35352137]

Natural England - we really need to hear from you that this awful plan has been abandoned.