Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the potential impact on Dartmoor ponies of their inclusion in grazing densities under Countryside Stewardship schemes.

On 16 July, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced that Dartmoor ponies would be removed from stocking rate calculations in new Environmental Management agreements on Dartmoor, so that farmers do not face a choice between keeping ponies and maintaining sheep or cattle. This implements recommendation 27 of the 2023 Fursdon Review, an independent review of protected site management on Dartmoor. A new dedicated pony supplement will be introduced into farming schemes to remove any financial incentive to reduce pony populations.