A DARTMOOR pony charity’s fight to avoid a pony cull on Dartmoor this winter has topped 145k signatures.

The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association is warning farmers may cull Dartmoor ponies en masse as the government calls for a massive reduction in livestock overwintering on the moor.

The association says farmers are likely to get rid of their ponies rather than remove cattle or sheep from the commons, as government body Natural England reduces stocking levels by around 75 per cent.

The association has launched a petition to government department Defra to have the pony protected as the new restrictions come in.

Its petition on change.org is still open.

Meanwhile, the row has turned national and political, with the Prime Minister saying he would not allow a cull and the Conservatives launching their own petition to save the pony.

Some weakling ponies are typically culled by their farmer owners following the autumn drifts, when commoners bring their ponies off the moor for welfare checks.

However, the hill pony association fears this may be on a larger scale this year, as farmers prioritise commercial livestock of cattle and sheep over the pony as stocking levels are drastically reduced on the moor by government body Natural England.

To prevent this happening, the association is appealing for the Dartmoor ponies to be removed from the livestock stocking tariffs set by the government.

The association says: “Dartmoor stands to lose up to 90% of its iconic semi-wild pony herds thanks to new grazing contracts drawn up by Natural England, which could come into force as early as the end of 2026. 

 "In the newly negotiated contracts, with drastic reductions in recommended numbers of grazing animals, ponies are included alongside cattle and sheep in total numbers of livestock permitted. This means that ponies will end up competing with cattle and sheep for limited grazing ‘space’ under the new scheme. Commoners will be forced to remove ponies to maximise the number of more commercially viable animals that they will be allowed to graze. 


"Ponies are NOT the problem: they are the solution that can help halt and reverse the decline of biodiversity on Dartmoor."  

It adds: “To ensure that this isn’t the final year we see these beautiful ponies on Dartmoor, there is one simple message, Natural England, remove them from the new grazing agreements. Please sign and share this petition at https://www.change.org/dartmoorwarriors.”

Meanwhile the Conservatives have launched their own petition to save the Dartmoor pony from destruction by Labour.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer denies this is the intent, stating via his spokesperson to the Telegraph that he “would not allow’ the semi-wild ponies to be culled.

And Natural England has meanwhile said it has no powers to order any mass cull and it would all be up to the individual farmers.

A spokesperson said: "Natural England has not recommended a cull of Dartmoor ponies. We do not have the power to order a cull, and we have not advised one."