Campaigners have welcomed new protection for Dartmoor ponies announced by the government.

The announcement by Defra – the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs – yesterday has heeded calls from local campaigners and MPs to remove the hill ponies from stock quotas in new agri-environment agreements.

The move comes after a petition signed by 20,000 people, organised by the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association, was presented to the government.

It implements recommendation 27 of the 2023 Fursdon Review, an independent review of protected site management on Dartmoor. Pony numbers will also be monitored across the moor to ensure they remain stable.

Defra added that a new dedicated pony supplement will also be introduced into farming schemes to remove any financial incentive to reduce pony populations, which are under threat.

In addition, the government says it has asked the Dartmoor Land Use Management Group to develop a whole-moor grazing framework ensuring all interests are considered together.

The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association has welcomed the news, having first raised concerns that new grazing level contracts between the government body Natural England and farmers would force the owners into a dilemma – choosing between keeping ponies or sheep and cattle.

Charlotte Faulkner, chair of the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association, said: “We thank the Defra Secretary of State for listening to people who care about the future of the semi-wild Dartmoor hill pony herds.

“Most of all, we want to thank the more than 220,000 people who stood up for Dartmoor’s ponies. Their voices have made a real difference.

“This is a day to celebrate. Dartmoor’s hill ponies belong on Dartmoor, and today’s announcement is a major step towards securing their future where they belong: on the moor. This will support Dartmoor’s biodiversity, culture and tourism, keeping Dartmoor as we know and love it for generations to come.

“This is wonderful news for Dartmoor’s ponies and for everyone who loves the moor. For months, pony keepers, commoners and supporters have been warning that future grazing agreements could unintentionally put these precious herds at risk. Today, the Government has listened.

“It means commoners should no longer be placed in the impossible position of having to choose between keeping ponies on the moor and maintaining viable farm businesses.”

Sir Geoffrey Cox, Torridge and Tavistock MP, has also welcomed the news, as the instigator of the Fursdon Review which was aimed to break a stalemate between farmers and conservationists over the management of the moor.

“I am delighted the government has now agreed to adopt Recommendation 27 of the Fursdon Report on the management of Dartmoor’s precious farming landscape by delinking Dartmoor ponies from the grazing quotas imposed on moorland farms,” he said.

This will mean we no longer risk their gradual extinction.”

He urged the government to send a farming minister to meet Dartmoor farmers at his upcoming Dartmoor Forum on the “ many other complex and pressing issues Dartmoor faces, including grazing levels”.

“It is regrettable that, so far, the government, despite agreeing six months ago to the presence of the farming minister this year, has been unwilling to make good on its promises and meet Dartmoor farmers to hear their voices directly. I am continuing to urge the new farming minister to do so.”