Dartmoor ponies declared ‘safe’ by Starmer ally after Natural England ‘blunder’ led to cull fears

A close ally of Sir Keir Starmer has declared Dartmoor ponies are “safe under this government”, despite fears that a new method of counting animals could lead to the culling of the semi-wild animals.

Lord Katz gave the reassurance after Lord Roborough accused Natural England of a “huge mistake” and urged it to “intervene and save the ponies”.

The body, which pays for environmentally friendly moorland grazing, now includes Dartmoor ponies in its livestock census for agri-environment plans.

The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association (DHPA) warns this will force grazing people on the Devon hills to choose between commercial animals and ponies.

DHPA secretary Joss Hibbs has warned that ponies will disappear if the public chooses commercial farming to make a living.

The Conservative Lord Roborough said the latest environmental land management plan agreements “require a 50% reduction in moorland grazing efforts to be compliant, following a historic 50% reduction.”

He said Natural England may not have wanted to target a particular species, but given the “limited commercial value” of ponies the organization “should have known” what the effects of its counting method would be.

Lord Roborough continued: “This is a huge mistake.

“This distant body of government is attempting to impose its centrally determined will over the legal rights of grazers on Dartmoor, with disastrous consequences for public acceptance of efforts to restore nature.

“What is (Lord Katz) doing to bring greater control and accountability to Natural England’s performance?

“Will he step in and save the ponies?”

Responding, Lord Katz said the answer to Lord Roborough’s last question was “of course yes”.

Speaking at the House of Lords letterbox, he added: “Natural England has not recommended culling Dartmoor ponies.

“He has neither the authority nor the advice to do this, and as a government we are clear that Dartmoor ponies will play an important role in Dartmoor’s heritage and will also continue to support Dartmoor’s habitats.”

Lord Katz also said: “The ecological health of Dartmoor is in a very poor state, partly due to decades of inappropriate grazing.

“Our farming plans are designed to remedy the situation through changing grazing patterns.

“In fact, Natural England chairman Tony Juniper said ponies are at the heart of this approach and he is right – Dartmoor hill ponies are part of the solution, not the problem.

“They are safe under this government.”

Labour’s Baroness Whitaker asked if she could move to the South Downs, a different National Park where some Dartmoor ponies live.

Following “successful” similar efforts in the past, he suggested they could “eat the saltgrass, thus allowing native grasslands to regenerate.”

Lord Katz replied: “I’m not sure I’d direct the movement of ponies or any other livestock from this shipping box, but it’s an interesting idea.

“I would just say that I’m sure a lot of people on Dartmoor, common graziers and other people on Dartmoor, would like to keep all their ponies there – but it’s an interesting idea.”

In the House of Commons, Labor MP for Exeter Steve Race laid the blame for a decline in the Dartmoor pony population at Natural England’s doorstep.

He said the animals were “so iconic that they feature as the logo of the (Dartmoor) National Park.”

But he added that “Natural England’s policies have already meant that the pony population has declined over the last decade.”

Dartmoor hill ponies have been around for 4,500 years, but their numbers have fallen from 6,000 25 years ago to fewer than 1,000 today, campaigners say.

In his response, the Leader of the House of Commons, Sir Alan Campbell, said: “Natural England are not proposing a cull – and I do not believe it is within their power to do anything about it anyway.

“Let me make it very clear that the government will not allow this.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the counting method as a “bizarre arrangement from Natural England” and added that “nobody is taking into account the unintended consequences of bureaucracy”.

Speaking at TheCityUK’s annual conference in central London, Ms Badenoch said: “We need to start finding all these things that need to be repealed so that we have the breathing space.”