Dartmoor’s ponies may look especially festive this Christmas – but it is part of a fledgling initiative designed to save their lives.
A number of the ponies have been painted with a bright strip of paint and decorated with reflective beads, so they will have an “alien glow” on the roads after 74 ponies were killed on Dartmoor’s roads in 2015.
The trial on privately owned ponies in the area is being run with animal husbandry company Nettex, who are working to improve the current formula of the paint to create “an even brighter and more durable version”.
"The reflective element is very bright and despite the horrendous weather it's very visible,” Karla McKechnie, of the Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society (DLPS), told the BBC.
If the initiative proves a success, the plan is to roll out the paint to more animals – including privately owned cattle – roaming across Dartmoor’s national park.
"The moor is a working landscape and the animals are the priority," Ms McKechnie added.
It is an initiative support by the Dartmoor National Park Authority. Spokesperson Mike Nendick warned drivers while the speed limit was 40mph, difficult conditions often mean motorists should take extra care.
He added many ponies were attracted to the salt on the roads during the winter months, making conditions even more hazardous.
"Some people think ponies can't survive on the moors in winter, but they have survived for thousands of years," he told the Western Morning News.
