The main problem with the Market was that there was not enough staff on duty to drove and move the ponies between the pens and sales ring. Members of the public were doing this, some using unnecessary force to move ponies around. Ponies were hit and poked with sticks, one person rugby tackled a foal to the ground. Our Welfare Officer spoke to the people carrying out these actions asking them to stop, most apologised and claimed that the ponies are used to being handled in such a manner!!
217 ponies went through the sales ring, some were sold to good homes, however over half of the ponies were bought by a Welsh meat dealer. This same dealer bought many of the unsold ponies for minimal amounts after the sale, we are further investigating this individual.
Our Welfare Team will be attending all the moorland pony sales this year, as usual.
I was at Hallworthy market too. However I think SWEP have got it wrong in investigating the meat man. They should be investigating the people who send a load of skin and bones to the market and the people who breed foals by the score whose only knowledge of handling is being hit around the head with a stick and whose only future is with the meat man. Unpleasant though it may be, the meat man is only there as a result of supply and demand.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous
ReplyDeletePlease be assured that SWEP are not only investigating this meat man, we cannot say to much for legal reasons. We are investigating a number of issues regarding Bodmin Moor and trying our hardest to relieve the continued suffering and neglect seen on the commons of Cornwall.