Quantock ponies attacking tourists for sweet treats
Similar problems have been encountered with seagulls in places like St Ives, and deer in some areas although actual violence towards humans is rare
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The normally gentle wild ponies of the Quantock Hills have broken a woman’s leg, bitten and headbutted people, and attacked vehicles after tourists started feeding them treats like chocolate biscuits, sweets and leftovers from picnics.
The horses have also been seen acting aggressively towards each other in order to get food left behind by humans in the remote area of Somerset, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Similar problems have been encountered with seagulls in places like St Ives, where the birds have become expert at taking a mouthful of ice cream, and deer in some areas although actual violence towards humans is rare.
The Quantock Pony Commoners Association warned visitors to the area: “Feeding the ponies is dangerous. By feeding the Quantock ponies you are changing their behaviour and encouraging them to become aggressive.
“There have been recent cases of a pony breaking someone’s leg, biting and causing vehicle damage. Do not add to the problem. For your own safety, please stay well clear of the ponies and never feed them.”
And Richard Waterman, a pony breeder, said: “It’s nice for people to come up and take a picnic – we don’t want them to stop doing that, but they must not leave food around and they definitely must not feed them [the ponies] by hand.
“Just the fact of leaving the food around draws the ponies back into this area, where there is a road across the hill, and that in itself causes a problem with vehicles driving and incidents where you get the odd pony run over.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments