| Dartmoor
Ponies are saved by scheme |
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| Ponies
on Dartmoor |
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The
Dartmoor National Park Authority has stepped in to ensure the future
of the Dartmoor Pony.
The authority has decided to subsidise moorland farmers to keep up
to 10 mares each. |
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One of
Devon's best loved symbols - the Dartmoor Pony - is to be saved from
dying out after a move by the Dartmoor National Park Authority.
There were fears the symbol of Dartmoor would disappear due to the
introduction of new European regulations.
Farmers feared the cost of providing each pony with its own individual
paperwork identification under the new rules would make them too expensive
to keep.
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| The
pony is the symbol of Dartmoor National Park |
But the
National Park Authority has now stepped in and agreed to subsidise
pony farming.
The Authority plans to subsidise farmers to keep up to 10 mares each.
It will mean fewer ponies on Dartmoor, but they will be of a better
quality.
That, in turn, should prompt a revival of markets for them - either
for children to ride or for export for meat.
Park Authority spokesman Robert Steemson said: "The pony is our emblem
so it is very important. The Dartmoor pony is recognised throughout
the world and it is what a lot of visitors come to see."
Dartmoor farmer George Shillibeer has traditionally lost money on
the ponies and wondered how long he could afford to continue keeping
them.
He said he was pleased their future was now being protected. "It is
important to keep up the tradition of the ponies. They are a great
attraction to visitors."
No price has yet been put on the pony protection scheme, but it is
expected to cost the authority tens of thousands of pounds.
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