Dartmoor ponies to be painted in bid to cut road deaths

By Chris EllisBBC News Online

Reflective paint is set to be put on Dartmoor's livestock in a bid to cut the number of animals being killed by vehicles.

The idea is from a project in Finland where reindeer antlers were painted.

Blue paint has been placed on privately-owned ponies to see how durable it is, with reflective beads to be added to the paint later.

The Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society (DLPS) scheme has been backed by the national park authority.

The paint will appear "really bright" when headlights are shone on it, project organisers said.

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Dartmoor pony contraceptive scheme at risk

The first UK trial to use contraception on wild hill ponies is at risk of failing, a charity says.

The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association is trying to reduce the slaughter of hundreds of foals each year because there is no market for them.

Two years ago a small number of mares were injected with contraceptives and now the charity wants to extend the trial to 100 animals.

However, it has been unable to find enough land for a new trial.

The pony charity said the first trial proved successful but it needed to carry out further tests, in a controlled area, to ensure the contraception would be effective across the moor.

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Pony 'killed by Satanists' died of natural causes - via Rob Chambers

A pony found mutilated on Dartmoor in what was claimed could be a Pagan ritual died of natural causes, according to Devon and Cornwall police.

A pony was found near Plymouth with organs and features missing or placed outside its body in July this year - leading to fears it could have been deliberately killed and arranged as part of a ritual.

Police say their investigation has concluded, and that the animal died of natural causes.

They say the mutilation was down to wild animals.

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Satanic cult suspected as pony found mutilated on Dartmoor

A Satanic cult is suspected of being behind the grisly death of a pony, found mutilated on Dartmoor after a full moon.

Police have appealed for the public's help after the the two month old pony was found dead on moorland at Yennadon Down, Dousland Yelverton by a horse rider at around 6.50pm on Tuesday.

A police spokesman said that the pony appeared to have been "deliberately mutilated" and officers are investigating the possibility that the body had been left in "some kind of ritualistic way."

The young male had its genitals, right ear and tongue sliced off, and eyes gouged out, its belly hacked open and had traces of white paint on one of its legs.

It was also surrounded by circular patches of burnt moorland, raising questions about a ritual taking place.

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Dartmoor hill ponies numbers 'drop to 850'

The number of Dartmoor hill ponies has plummeted from about 30,000 in the 1950s to about 850 now, according to conservationists.

Ponies are sold every year as pets and for grazing.

Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony (FDLP) said the recession, high hay prices and tougher horse transport regulation were putting off buyers.

As a result, farmers were keeping far fewer mares than stallions and numbers on the moor were dropping.

Charlotte Faulkner of FDLP said numbers had dropped from about 3,000 16 years ago to 1,500 five years ago.

"Hay prices are astronomical and people just don't have the money to invest in what we're producing," she said.

Read on:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-19841523