Dartmoor Hill Ponies

On Tuesday night we had a visit from Charlotte of  'The Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony' to discuss the plight of Dartmoor Hill ponies. Dartmoor ponies symbolise the Dartmoor spirit, but sadly they are no longer an agricultural animal that generates profit for the farmer. Out of every 750 foals that are born each year on Dartmoor, 400 of them end up being shot. One way to give those foals a better life is to give them at least 3 years of happiness roaming the moors, and then to sell them on for meat consumption. This brings the farmer money and gives the foals more of a life. The hope is that people will gradually accept eating pony meat, just like pigs and cows. The pony meat is high in protein and Omega 3 while low in fat. It is also very tasty, which makes it a good food option. I believe this is a sustainable way of keeping Dartmoor Hill Ponies on the moors, and I respect Charlotte's passion for finding an initially hard to swallow solution, which may possibly be the only viable solution to ensure the survival of Dartmoor Hill Ponies. Like Stephen Hawkins said, "We are very very small in this Universe, but we are capable of doing big things."

Lydia