The Dartmoor Pony Row and the Future of Upland Farming: Our Letter to The Telegraph

Sir – David Slater's claim (“Pony cull being used to force us off Dartmoor, say farmers”, June 20) that Natural England is protecting rural livelihoods is contradicted by its own policy documents.

For example, Natural England’s new Definition of Favourable Conservation Status for Blanket Bog (RP2967) guides decisions across around 793,000 acres of the uplands. It defines success as habitat requiring little or no active management. Grazing is deemed “not required”.

That is not a future built around farmers or commoners who graze livestock. The Dartmoor pony row exposes a fundamental question. Should our moorlands remain living, working landscapes, or become places where land management is regarded as a problem to be removed?

If Natural England is to honour its statement that it wishes to protect rural livelihoods, its policy documents require urgent revision. If not, Parliament deserves an honest debate about the consequences before jobs, skills and communities are lost.

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Gilruth

Chief Executive 

The Moorland Association