Action on Bodmin, two mares removed
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Action on Bodmin, two mares removed
February 25, 2011
A group which helps neglected ponies on Bodmin Moor in England believes two of the worst-affected animals have been taken into care by authorities, but has decried the lack of communication.
Several ponies have disappeared from the moor following media reports and pressure from South West Equine Protection.
South West Equine Protection highlighted the plight of several ponies on the moor early in February, saying it feared the animals would die without help.
Its pony welfare officer, Faye Stacey, said five dead ponies had been found within three weeks and there were another three emaciated ponies whose welfare was of serious concern.
The group accused Cornish authorities of failing to act, despite repeated calls from her group and members of the public.
An email from Cornwall County Council on February 16 acknowledged that the situation with the ponies on Bodmin was serious.
"Our animal inspectors are kept very busy pursuing worse cases of neglect and cruelty in farm animal livestock. Preparing such cases for prosecution is somewhat easier of course because the ownership of the livestock is rather easier to establish ..." the email said.
"It will always be an emotive issue, and will, of course, be picked up and 'exposed' by the local and national media.
"However, for a variety of reasons as outlined above, the Council needs to tread carefully and cannot simply remove the animals."
Stacey said media coverage saw her group inundated with people wanting to know what had happened to the ponies.
On February 18, she travelled to the moor to check on the ponies.
"We found two of the emaciated ponies. By this time, they had both left their herd. They were now alone, each on separate areas of the common.
"Most worryingly, the pony known to us as Little Mare (pictured below), who had been in the most emaciated condition, had disappeared.
Little Mare, pictured early this month, has disappeared.
"Her herd was still on the moor but she was gone. I walked all over her herd's territory and beyond but I couldn't find a body anywhere. There were some tyre tracks, so someone must know what has happened to her."
The same day, the group called its own equine vet to assess the condition of the two remaining emaciated ponies. The vet confirmed that the mares were in very poor condition and that they were pregnant.
He said if they were not removed from the moor as soon as possible they were both at serious risk of dying of starvation. Neither would be able to provide milk for any newborn in their current condition.
The group notified the police of the vet's report, as required under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
A rescue was organised for the following day, Stacey said.
Its volunteers and staff arrived at the common at 8am, finding the vehicle access gate to the moor open and the two emaciated ponies gone.
"It was devastating not knowing what had happened to the ponies - sometime between 4pm on Friday and 8am on Saturday morning they disappeared," Stacey said.
"But it wasn't only these ponies that were missing - the healthy members of their herd group were missing too - we believe seven ponies in all, some of which had identifying marks - one was ear-notched and on occasion had a visible brand. There were tractor tyre marks on to the moor, and lots of deep hoof marks down the hill where a group of ponies had moved at speed - we guessed they had been rounded up.
"The last four days have been very worrying and we feared that the ponies may have been shot, particularly if their owners could not be traced."
Stacey said they had been able to establish four days later that two of the ponies had been removed by the agriculture body, Defra.
"What has been so frustrating about this is the total lack of communication from the authorities about what is happening," she said.
"Our priority is always the welfare of the ponies - at that moment all we knew was that ponies had disappeared.
"Now, four days after the ponies disappeared, and after many enquiries and much speculation, we have finally discovered that Defra have actually taken two of the ponies into care."
Stacey said she hoped it was the two worst-affected animals.
"We believe that they will now be cared for by a national equine charity. We are still unsure as to what happened to the other healthy ponies of their herd.
"Obviously we are very relieved that the two emaciated mares are safe, and being fed and cared for."
Stacey said her group would continue to respond to information from the public with regard to ponies on the moor but needed to be certain that if a problem was reported to the authorities they would deal with it quickly and appropriately.
Stacey said she hoped communication with local authorities could be improved, for the good of the ponies.
The SWEP responded to a report of another dead pony on Bodmin on Monday. The mare, aged between two and three, was found by walkers on the moor.
On Monday, the group responded to a report of a dead pony on another common of Bodmin Moor.
Stacey explained that all of the ponies living on Bodmin are owned.
"They are called 'wild' because that is how they live; their owners use grazing rights on the moor. Some people may call them 'free-living' or 'semi-feral'.
"Some farmers have a responsible attitude to their animals. The ones that don't are not bothering to microchip, they are not checking on their ponies, or providing extra feed. It has been all too easy for them to deny ownership and avoid prosecution for neglect.
"This case has really highlighted the fact that pony owners on Bodmin Moor have been successfully evading their responsibility to microchip their ponies, which they have been required to do by law since 2009."
Stacey said her group wanted to see the implementation of a compulsory collar identification scheme, such as that which is likely to be implemented in South Wales.
"Collar schemes have already worked well in other areas with semi-feral ponies," she said.
"Not only do they provide direct identification to owners, but the collars are also fluorescent which benefits ponies living alongside roads, making them more visible to drivers in the dark and bad weather.
"It would also make ponies that have been dumped or abandoned on the moor readily distinguishable."
Some of the herd of ponies who have disappeared, including the two ponies who concerned South West Equine Protection.
February 25, 2011
A group which helps neglected ponies on Bodmin Moor in England believes two of the worst-affected animals have been taken into care by authorities, but has decried the lack of communication.
Several ponies have disappeared from the moor following media reports and pressure from South West Equine Protection.
South West Equine Protection highlighted the plight of several ponies on the moor early in February, saying it feared the animals would die without help.
Its pony welfare officer, Faye Stacey, said five dead ponies had been found within three weeks and there were another three emaciated ponies whose welfare was of serious concern.
The group accused Cornish authorities of failing to act, despite repeated calls from her group and members of the public.
An email from Cornwall County Council on February 16 acknowledged that the situation with the ponies on Bodmin was serious.
"Our animal inspectors are kept very busy pursuing worse cases of neglect and cruelty in farm animal livestock. Preparing such cases for prosecution is somewhat easier of course because the ownership of the livestock is rather easier to establish ..." the email said.
"It will always be an emotive issue, and will, of course, be picked up and 'exposed' by the local and national media.
"However, for a variety of reasons as outlined above, the Council needs to tread carefully and cannot simply remove the animals."
Stacey said media coverage saw her group inundated with people wanting to know what had happened to the ponies.
On February 18, she travelled to the moor to check on the ponies.
"We found two of the emaciated ponies. By this time, they had both left their herd. They were now alone, each on separate areas of the common.
"Most worryingly, the pony known to us as Little Mare (pictured below), who had been in the most emaciated condition, had disappeared.
Little Mare, pictured early this month, has disappeared.
"Her herd was still on the moor but she was gone. I walked all over her herd's territory and beyond but I couldn't find a body anywhere. There were some tyre tracks, so someone must know what has happened to her."
The same day, the group called its own equine vet to assess the condition of the two remaining emaciated ponies. The vet confirmed that the mares were in very poor condition and that they were pregnant.
He said if they were not removed from the moor as soon as possible they were both at serious risk of dying of starvation. Neither would be able to provide milk for any newborn in their current condition.
The group notified the police of the vet's report, as required under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
A rescue was organised for the following day, Stacey said.
Its volunteers and staff arrived at the common at 8am, finding the vehicle access gate to the moor open and the two emaciated ponies gone.
"It was devastating not knowing what had happened to the ponies - sometime between 4pm on Friday and 8am on Saturday morning they disappeared," Stacey said.
"But it wasn't only these ponies that were missing - the healthy members of their herd group were missing too - we believe seven ponies in all, some of which had identifying marks - one was ear-notched and on occasion had a visible brand. There were tractor tyre marks on to the moor, and lots of deep hoof marks down the hill where a group of ponies had moved at speed - we guessed they had been rounded up.
"The last four days have been very worrying and we feared that the ponies may have been shot, particularly if their owners could not be traced."
Stacey said they had been able to establish four days later that two of the ponies had been removed by the agriculture body, Defra.
"What has been so frustrating about this is the total lack of communication from the authorities about what is happening," she said.
"Our priority is always the welfare of the ponies - at that moment all we knew was that ponies had disappeared.
"Now, four days after the ponies disappeared, and after many enquiries and much speculation, we have finally discovered that Defra have actually taken two of the ponies into care."
Stacey said she hoped it was the two worst-affected animals.
"We believe that they will now be cared for by a national equine charity. We are still unsure as to what happened to the other healthy ponies of their herd.
"Obviously we are very relieved that the two emaciated mares are safe, and being fed and cared for."
Stacey said her group would continue to respond to information from the public with regard to ponies on the moor but needed to be certain that if a problem was reported to the authorities they would deal with it quickly and appropriately.
Stacey said she hoped communication with local authorities could be improved, for the good of the ponies.
The SWEP responded to a report of another dead pony on Bodmin on Monday. The mare, aged between two and three, was found by walkers on the moor.
On Monday, the group responded to a report of a dead pony on another common of Bodmin Moor.
Stacey explained that all of the ponies living on Bodmin are owned.
"They are called 'wild' because that is how they live; their owners use grazing rights on the moor. Some people may call them 'free-living' or 'semi-feral'.
"Some farmers have a responsible attitude to their animals. The ones that don't are not bothering to microchip, they are not checking on their ponies, or providing extra feed. It has been all too easy for them to deny ownership and avoid prosecution for neglect.
"This case has really highlighted the fact that pony owners on Bodmin Moor have been successfully evading their responsibility to microchip their ponies, which they have been required to do by law since 2009."
Stacey said her group wanted to see the implementation of a compulsory collar identification scheme, such as that which is likely to be implemented in South Wales.
"Collar schemes have already worked well in other areas with semi-feral ponies," she said.
"Not only do they provide direct identification to owners, but the collars are also fluorescent which benefits ponies living alongside roads, making them more visible to drivers in the dark and bad weather.
"It would also make ponies that have been dumped or abandoned on the moor readily distinguishable."
Some of the herd of ponies who have disappeared, including the two ponies who concerned South West Equine Protection.