THE only way to save Dartmoor's ponies is to eat them – that's what the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association believe should be done to stop the unique breed from dying out.

But the South West Equine Protection said it is 'horrified' at the scheme and 'will never support overbreeding or killing ponies for profit'.

The DHPA asked SWEP for their support in the launch of human consumption of pony meat to 'ensure the future of the ponies'.

However SWEP declared the proposal 'is 'nothing but another money making scheme and a solution for greed'.

Each year thousands of tourists watch the Dartmoor ponies as they visit the historic moor. But the DHPA say that the current fall in the number of ponies on the moor will eventually affect the tourist trade.

It said: 'Unless a way can be found to make them profitable, the remaining farmers will have to do the same.

Hill farmers can't afford to keep luxuries and this will mean that the moor won't be grazed properly, gorse will flourish making whole areas inaccessible and eventually the tourist trade will drop.'

The DHPA added that out of around 900 foals born every year only 30 per cent are homed; 10 per cent are used to replenish the herds and 60 per cent are shot.

It said demand had dropped for the ponies because of the economic downturn.

For more on this story, see this week's Ivybridge & South Brent Gazette