In a statement published on GOV.UK on 15 July 2026, the government said it will protect Dartmoor pony populations through a change to farm scheme rules, a new payment supplement and closer monitoring of herd numbers. Ministers said the aim is to keep populations at least at current levels while allowing conservation agreements on the moor to proceed without further pressure on pony keepers. The announcement places pony management within the wider question of how Dartmoor's protected sites should be restored. According to the government statement, the package is intended to support both habitat recovery and the viability of the farming communities that manage the commons.
The immediate rule change is narrow but significant. Dartmoor ponies will be removed from stocking rate calculations in new Environmental Management agreements, meaning farmers should no longer have to weigh pony numbers against sheep or cattle when entering schemes. That decision puts recommendation 27 of the 2023 Fursdon Review into effect. The independent review, commissioned after disputes over protected site management on Dartmoor, argued that ponies and cattle should be treated separately when livestock numbers are assessed for public schemes.
Ministers also said a dedicated pony supplement will be added to farming schemes. The stated purpose is to remove any financial incentive to reduce pony populations and to recognise the role ponies play in conservation grazing on open moorland. The government's notes say Dartmoor Hill Ponies are classified by Defra as a Native Heritage Semi-Feral population and are listed as 'at risk' on the Native Breed Support register. The notes add that Dartmoor Hill Ponies and Pedigree Dartmoor ponies can qualify for supplementary payments aimed at native breeds at risk and moorland grazing. If eligible, similar support will also be available beyond Dartmoor, including on Exmoor and in the Cumbrian Fells.
The ecological case remains central to the package. The government said large parts of Dartmoor have been in long-term ecological decline, despite the moor's national and international environmental designations. Its notes state that 28% of Dartmoor is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Against that backdrop, grazing levels remain a live policy question. Government figures place the number of ponies on the moor at roughly 900 to 1,500, and ministers have said those numbers should not fall below current levels.
The announcement also hands a further task to the Dartmoor Land Use Management Group. Ministers have asked the group to develop a whole-moor grazing framework so that farming, heritage and conservation interests are considered together rather than through isolated agreement decisions. Natural England chief executive Marian Spain said the changes should help the agency secure the agreements it needs for nature recovery on Dartmoor. Her statement also described ponies as central to the management of the moor and to its longer-term sustainability.
Local organisations with a direct interest in pony grazing welcomed the approach. Phil Stocker, who chairs the Dartmoor Land Use Management Group, said the package gives reassurance that native pony populations remain part of Dartmoor's ecology and culture. Charlotte Faulkner of the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association pointed to strong public backing for the semi-wild herds and linked the decision to biodiversity, culture and tourism. Catherine Anderson of the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust said the proposed support should strengthen the case for retaining ponies on the common. For commoners and scheme applicants, the practical change is clear. Ponies should no longer reduce room for sheep or cattle within new agreement calculations, and the planned supplement is meant to offset any payment gap. The next test will be delivery: the payment design, herd monitoring and the whole-moor framework will determine whether the policy produces stable pony numbers and better condition on protected sites.